Escape
by sktrgrl13
Summary: ModernAU : Running from a past that still continues to haunt him Gray and his family move to Magnolia for a fresh start. Afraid to let anyone close again, he separates himself from not only his classmates, but his family as well... but what he didn't count on was meeting Natsu Dragneel. warning: boyxboy -may change to M in later chapters-
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, but I will own the future OC**

**Warnings: Future Yaoi, Language and Violence**

_Pain. Blood. Tears._

"_You will be mine…"_

"_No matter what you try to do, you cannot escape me Gray…"_

"_No matter how far you run or where you hide I will always find you…"_

"_Nothing and no one will stop me from obtaining you…"_

"_Even if I must kill them in the process…"_

"_You will only belong to me!"_

He shot forward in his bed, his cold sweat covering him like an unneeded second blanket. Even though he was no longer in the frozen, snow covered lands of Isvan, he could still feel that familiar chill that used to cling to his bones. His old wounds began to act the fading memory of his dream and that's when he knew it was about **him**. He ran his hands through his raven hair and sighed in exhaustion before looking out the large window that sat at the far end of his room. The indigo sky was giving way to the peachy hues of dawn and the stars were starting to fade into oblivion. He shakily pushed himself out of bed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes; he knew that there was no way he was going back to sleep.

He silently made his way to the bathroom as not to wake his mom, sister and brother from their slumbers. He may not be able to sleep, but he would never want to subject his family to that as well; he had already put them through so much pain. He sighed exhaustedly as he shut the bathroom door; being careful to avoid the mirror, he addressed himself and climbed into the shower, hoping that the water would wash away his past.

After what seemed like a few moments a silent knock sounded at the door,

"Gray, are you in there already?"

He turned off the shower and stepped out after wrapping a towel around his waist. Still making sure to avoid the mirror, he slowly opened the door to come face to face with his older brother. His silvery hair was more gravity defying as normal seeing as he just climbed out of bed himself. His onyx eyes were still slightly closed because they were still half asleep, but Gray could tell that he was being watched carefully.

"'Sup Lyon?" Gray mumbled as he avoided his brother's stare.

"Nothing," Lyon shrugged, "Just was wondering why you were up at 5:30 in the morning…again…"

Gray ran his hand absently through his dark hair and started to make his way towards his room,

"Nervous about school, that's all."

"You're still thinking about him aren't you?" The white haired boy muttered.

The younger teen's shoulders visibly tensed at the accusation giving Lyon all the answers he needed. The floor creaked as he tried to approach Gray, but the raven was much quicker. He opened the door to his room and closed it on his brother's face just as he caught up.

"Stop avoiding us Gray," Lyon leaned his head against the door, "It wasn't your fault."

"I-I'm not avoiding you." He denied, "I-I just want to get ready for school okay?"

"Gray…" Lyon sighed as he turned from the closed door, "At least eat breakfast today, so mom knows you're alright with moving here?"

"Yeah…"

The floorboards creaked once more as the older sibling made his way back towards the bathroom for his morning shower. Frustration and anger quickly built up within him as he thought about his family again. Without thinking he dove at his desk in the far corner of his room and shoved all the books that were resting on top of it to ground. He fell to his knees and tugged at his hair as tears gathered in his eyes.

At this point he didn't even want to live anymore.

GxNxGxNxGxN

When his set alarm went off at seven, he gathered the books he had thrown on the floor earlier that morning and put them in his book bag. He straightened the tie on his uniform and messed his raven hair slightly before heading downstairs. Gray walked towards the kitchen quietly and laid his bag near the counter. The scent of eggs wafted towards him immediately drawing his attention the woman standing at the stove. A slender woman with short raven hair was toying with the eggs in the frying pan with a determined glint in her deep blue eyes. Gray couldn't suppress the smile that spread across his face at the sight of that; it almost convinced him that everything was the way it was… but of course that wasn't true. Probably hearing his bag hitting the ground, the woman turned with a smile on her face,

"Morning Gray, how was your sleep?"

The raven teen forced a smile on his face,

"Pretty good, just nervous you know?"

At that moment his older sister walked into the kitchen with her bag slung over her shoulder. Her intelligent brown eyes watched him carefully as she grabbed a plate and walked over to their mom to get some eggs. Lyon and Ultear may be twins, but that doesn't mean they have the right to exercise their 'twin telepathy' thing. Having all knowing older twin siblings sure sucked ass on most days and he knew this from experience.

"Hey Ultear," Their mom asked, "Is Lyon awake yet?"

"Last time I checked," She smirked as she flipped her raven hair over her shoulder, "But then again, he probably fell back asleep as soon as he got back in his room."

Ur sighed as her gaze shifted upwards,

"You're probably right; I better go check on the idiot."

She turned off the stove and headed towards the stairs to drag her eldest son out of his room as per everyday routine. Gray shuffled over to the stove and got himself so eggs, even if it was the bare minimum, and sat down next to Ultear at the table. He was about to dig into his eggs when he felt Ultear's eyes boring their way into him causing a chill to travel up his spine. He sighed exasperatedly before putting down his fork,

"What do you want Ul?"

Her eyebrow twitched slightly before bringing her hand down on top of his head,

"Don't call me that dumbass."

"Whatever." Gray muttered as he rolled his eyes.

"Why did you tell mom that you slept fine when you clearly didn't?" She demanded bluntly.

Gray shoved his plate of eggs away from him, his appetite quickly leaving him,

"I wasn't lying."

"Yes you were." Ultear reached out to touch his shoulder, "It's okay if you're having problems, that's why we're here…"

He flinched away from her touch and got out of his seat. He collected his still full plate and placed it next to the sink. He reached down to grab his book bag and headed towards the front door. Before leaving he turned towards his sister,

"Don't worry about it; just tell Mom and Lyon I went to school already."

He shut the door quickly so he could ignore any more of his sister's nosy inquiries. His new neighbourhood in Magnolia was eerily silent, but that was to be expected at 7:30am. Most people probably weren't even up yet, school didn't even start until nine anyways. Reaching into his book bag, Gray pulled out his most trusted object (his iPod) and drowned out the waking world. After putting in his earbuds and pressing shuffle, he shoved his hands deep in his pockets as continued the trek to his new personal hell… Fairy Tail High.

GxNxGxNxGxN

Natsu was up and about as soon as the sun came up; he didn't know why, but that's just how it had always been. Maybe it was because his dad used to get him up this early so they could go on nature walks and such when he was a kid. The pinkette stretched his arms above his head and yawned largely before stumbling ungracefully out of his bed. The first thing he did was check his cellphone to see if anything interesting happened the night before with any of his friends. And of course since he lived in Magnolia, nothing interesting ever did happen. He quickly made his way to the shower and cleaned the sleep off himself before putting on his uniform and heading downstairs for breakfast. Of course his uniform wasn't conformed to regulation and Erza would probably kick his ass later for it, but as of right now he honestly couldn't care less.

When Natsu entered the kitchen, he noticed that his dad wasn't there… again…but the usual note that he left behind definitely was. He simply ignored it and poured himself a bowl of cereal and tried to remember if he had any important tests to cram for before the day started. He couldn't remember any tests, but he did remember that last Friday Happy-sensei announced that there would be a new student joining their class; maybe something interesting was going to happen after all. He glanced over at the clock shining on his stove and noticed that if he didn't get moving, he was going to be late… again… and then Erza would definitely kill him. Running his hand through his pink hair one last time and throwing his dirty dishes in the sink, Natsu grabbed his bag and bolted full speed out the door.

As he was running down the sidewalk towards the school, he realized that the roads seemed strangely silent considering what time his stove said. He dug around his pants pocket for his phone and sighed when he saw the time flashing on the screen…

7:30am…

Erza must have changed his clocks an hour ahead on purpose so that he would show up at the school on time. One of the downsides of having one of your best friends as the student council president was that her word was law; inside and outside the classroom. Not to mention that she's so terrifying that it's next to impossible to say no to her… especially if you want to live a long and happy life. Natsu slowed down his jog into a walk when he realized that he no longer had to fear Erza that day; if anything Erza was going to give him a pat on the back that will almost break his spine.

Natsu walked down the quiet street with his head down and decided to take a detour at the park so that he wasn't an hour early. The park was definitely his favourite place to be; it was one of the only wide open places in Magnolia and there was even a river that ran behind it. It was a beautiful spot and gave him the chance to think; of course his friends would be surprised to her 'Natsu' and 'think' in the same sentence. Although judging by his impulsivity and active temper (especially against Gajeel Redfox), no one would have ever guessed that, so he didn't really blame them that much. He walked along the pathway beside the river and his eyes were immediately drawn to a lone figure standing at the water's edge. A pair of shoes were placed beside one of the rocks and a school bag that looked a lot like his own. As he approached the stranger, he realized it was a boy no older than himself with dark raven hair and a super pale complexion; he definitely didn't look like someone from around here that's for sure… but he was wearing the Fairy Tail High uniform.

"Oi!" He called out, "What are you doing?"

Clearly startled, the boy jumped slightly and nearly lost his footing. Thanks to his quick reflexes from judo, Natsu was able to latch onto the boy's wrist and pull him back to dry land. The mysterious raven stumbled and fell back into Natsu's chest. He felt the rigidness in the teen's shoulders and immediately let go so that the raven could put as much space between them as he would like.

"I-I was just…" The raven stuttered with a light blush on his cheeks, "Sorry."

"Don't worry man," Natsu laughed, "It's cool, I should learn to stop sneaking up on people."

The raven kept his face down so that they couldn't maintain eye contact and that irked the pinkette somewhat seeing as he was taught to always look someone in the eye when talking to them. While the raven tied his shoes, Natsu bent down and handed the discarded book bag over to him. The raven visibly flinched before murmuring a thanks and placing the bag on his shoulder.

"So," Natsu began, "How long have you been going to Fairy High, I don't think I've seen you before."

"You haven't," The raven mumbled, "I just enrolled a couple days ago."

The raven started to walk away from the pinkette, but of course Natsu Dragneel wouldn't be shaken so easily…

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow, "Where'd you transfer from?"

"It's not important…"

"Of course it is!" Natsu laughed as he rested his hands behind his head.

"No it's not." The raven growled, "Just let it go."

Natsu raised an eyebrow at the raven's harsh tone,

"Chances are the teachers will tell us anyway, so may as well tell me now."

"Then you can wait for them to tell you," The raven shrugged, "'Cause I'm not telling you anything; I barely even know you."

Natsu nodded his head in agreement, but continued to watch as the slightly shorter teen walked ahead of him and continued to hide his face. He couldn't help but feel annoyed at that; he wanted to know what the raven looked like goddamnit! Stupid 'mysterious transfer student' vibe was getting to him; his cousin really shouldn't have made him watch _The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya _all summer, honestly.

"Hey, why won't you look at me when I talk to you?" Natsu blurted out.

"Who said I **wanted **to talk to you Pinky?"

"Do not call me Pinky you raven haired albino!"

"I am not an albino!" The raven retorted furiously, "If anyone around here was an albino it would have to be my brother."

"So," Natsu smirked, "You have a brother?"

The raven stopped in his tracks and whipped around angrily,

"Why can't you just leave me the hell alone?!"

Natsu opened his mouth to respond, but he found that his voice was no longer working. The raven was finally looking at him head on and he was completely surprised by what he saw. The first thing he noticed were the deep blue eyes that glared at him furiously. They were such a unique blue that Natsu felt himself getting lost in them. But when his green eyes finally moved from the blue ones he finally noticed what the raven was hiding…

Horrible, red, burn marks stretched across part of his face and neck…

Clearly misinterpreting Natsu's stare, the raven quickly turned on his heel and ran away before the pinkette could even blink. The pinkette could only stare because he was stuck wondering how anyone or anything would want to ruin such a beautiful face.

TBC

**I'm officially insane lol! Why I started another project when I have yet to finish any others is beyond me, but when this idea hit me, I just wanted to write it so bad! Clearly the characters are going to be a bit OOC, but I hope that doesn't stop you from reading this story! Oh and I'm trying out a Modern AU so there's no magic in this :P Waiting on your reviews!**

**-sktrgrl**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

**Warnings: Future Yaoi, Language and Violence**

Gray ran as fast as he could from the pinkette standing in the park; he didn't know his name and he didn't plan on finding it out. He didn't even know why he ran from the strange boy; it definitely wasn't because of his face, everyone was bound to see it anyway. It was just something that was reflected in those dark green eyes that scared him so much that he had to get away. When their eyes connected, a weird, familiar feeling started to spread through his chest and he had to get rid of it as fast as he could. That feeling never led to anything good, he knew that from experience; it nearly cost him everything he held dear. Gray felt the unwanted presence of tears pushing at the back of his eyes and he furiously blinked them away before reconstructing his mask of indifference.

He unconsciously straightened his tie and adjusted his bag before leaving the park. He was about to push his headphones in his ears once more when a hand clasped down on his shoulder. He grabbed the intruder's wrist and flipped around so fast that everything blurred around. His other fist lashed out and struck the intruder in the nose. A gasp of pain immediately erupted from the intruder and guilt flowed through Gray's veins. Lyon was on his knees clutching his throbbing nose and cursing under his breath while Ultear was laughing with tears in her eyes.

"Idiot," Ultear gasped as she clutched her side, "I told you that you shouldn't sneak up on him."

Gray totally ignored her comment and helped his older sibling to his feet,

"I'm so sorry Lyon! Did I break it?!"

The white haired moved his hands so that Gray could look it over quickly. He was happy to let him too; this was the closest Gray has ever come to either of his family members in almost a year. Gray smiled slightly when he noticed there was no blood, but Lyon was definitely going to be sporting a massive goose-egg on the bridge of his nose for his first day of classes… and maybe two black eyes…but Gray wasn't going to tell him that.

"I'm fine," Lyon laughed as he finally swatted his brother's hands away, "I thought you left early, why aren't you there yet?"

The raven shifted from foot to foot and rubbed the back of his neck tensely,

"Yeah, I noticed the river back a ways and I wanted to check it out is all."

Ultear noted her youngest brother's unease and frowned,

"Did something happen?"

"What?" He glanced at his sister, "No, what would?"

Ultear's frown deepened and she opened her mouth to say more when Lyon cut her off,

"We should probably get going, we don't want to be late for the first day."

Gray nodded his head in agreement before turning his head and leaving his siblings behind. Lyon shot his older twin sister a look that clearly said 'drop it' before following after their younger brother. She rolled her eyes before following the two idiots; she knew why Lyon gave her that look, it was because that was the first true sibling interaction they had in the past year. It wasn't like she didn't want Gray to talk to them again, but she also wanted to protect him…

Something that they weren't able to do in Isvan…

Something that they all would regret for the rest of their lives…

FTFTFTFT

Natsu slammed his head on his desk as soon as he sat down. It was only the start of the day and he already wanted to go back to sleep. Not only was he the first one in class for the first time in his life, but he couldn't get the raven out of his head. He wasn't trying to be a major stalker or anything, but he just wanted to know who he was. The pinkette slammed his head on his desk again because yes, those thoughts did sound like the thoughts of a major stalker. He couldn't stop his mind from wandering to the burns that marred the raven's alabaster skin. Where had they come from and why had the teen seemed so distant? Then again, Natsu would be distant with a nosy stranger too… sigh… why was being a teenager so damn difficult!

"My life couldn't be any better…" Natsu mumbled bitterly.

"Natsu, are you okay?" A concerned voice asked from somewhere beside him, "You look like you have been sitting on a train or something."

"Don't talk about trains." Natsu's face immediately turned green before turning to the source of the voice.

A petite blonde girl was leaning against a desk beside him with her arms folded across her chest. Her brown bag was hanging off her shoulder and her signature key rings were hanging out of her pockets. Her brown eyes were boring into his with an intensity that only Erza seemed to possess; was Lucy getting lessons from her or something? If that ever happened, the school probably wouldn't survive; one Erza Scarlet was hard enough to handle.

"Seriously Natsu, are you okay?" Lucy repeated.

"Yeah, yeah," The pinkette sat up and propped his chin in his hand, "I'm fine, just ran into one of the new students today…"

"REALLY?!" The blonde squealed, "What was he like?!"

"How do you know it was a boy?" Natsu raised an eyebrow.

"'Cause only you would get this flustered over a boy." Lucy smirked.

Natsu felt his cheeks burn up with embarrassment,

"I am NOT flustered."

"Your blush says otherwise." She teased as she poked his nose.

Natsu growled and opened his mouth to retort when an arm draped over his shoulders,

"Now why would our Natsu be blushing?"

The pinkette slammed his head on his desk once more at the sound of the teasing voice. He knew without looking that if he turned his head he would see a strawberry blonde playboy who also happened to be one of his best friends. Oh he definitely knew how to pick his friends… yeah, one of his best talents…

Not.

"He met one of the new transfer students." Lucy answered for him.

"Oh and this new guy has our little Natsu all hot and bothered?"

"I AM NOT HOT AND BOTHERED!" If he was a dragon, flames would have been spewing out of his mouth.

"Natsu, I'm happy that you're here early and all, but don't shout." An authoritative voice interrupted, "And Loke if you continue speaking inappropriately I'll have you in detention again."

All three heads slowly turned their heads towards the open doorway with sweat slowly trickling down the back of their necks. A girl with long, fiery red hair was standing in the doorway with her hands placed firmly on her hips. The fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling caused an unnerving glint to reflect off her glasses and every single part of her uniform was prime and proper. The aura she carried just screamed 'run and hide or risk extreme pain' and main people followed the feeling that the aura gave off too. No one in their right mind would oppose Erza Scarlet and that was a fact.

"Hi Erza," Lucy smiled nervously, "How was your morning?"

"It was splendid actually," Erza smiled as she walked in the room, "I had to chase some Oracian Seis students off our property and I helped Master Makarov reprimand Nab for loitering around the bulletin board again; it has been a fairly eventful day."

_Poor Nab…_ Natsu, Lucy and Loke all prayed for his survival.

"Have you seen the new students yet?" Loke asked curiously.

Erza tapped her chin thoughtfully,

"I believe I saw three students entering the office, but I was too busy dealing with Nab to actually take notice…"

Just then the bell rang immediately halting Erza midsentence, but instead of continuing her sentence when the bell ended, she strode out of the classroom and began yelling at students to get to class. The three teenagers in the classroom sweatdropped and watched as their classmates poured into the room. Everyone was chatting amongst themselves as they entered and continued to do so as they sat down. It was easy to figure out what everyone was talking about, after all, it was the first real news Magnolia has had in years.

Natsu, on the other hand, was completely nervous…

And he wasn't a big fan of that.

FTFTFTFT

Gray sat in the main office with his hands fisting into his pants. His hands were clenched so tightly that his knuckles had turned white enough for people to actually notice. Ultear and Lyon had already been taken to their class by their teacher Mrs. Strauss which left him alone. He apparently had to wait for his teacher, who so happened to be late; according to Principal Makarov, who insisted that they called him 'Gramps', this was an everyday occurrence. He ran his forcibly unclenched his hands and ran them through his raven hair nervously. Unintentionally, one of his slim fingers ran over one of the burn marks. He unconsciously flinched from the feel of the rough skin; maybe he should've tried covering them up with something. That would've stopped the whispers that were bound to appear and inevitably the questions that came along with them…

Maybe coming to school wasn't a good idea…

"Gray Milkovich-Fullbuster?"

His head snapped up to come face to face with a short blue haired man with huge, expressive brown eyes. He was wearing a slightly rumpled green suit and for some reason he kind of smelt like fish; not mention that there seemed to be a ton of cat hair all over his suit. However, the man had a kind smile on his face that seemed to draw Gray's buried smile out of him. The man held out one of his little hands,

"Hi, I'm your teacher Happy-sensei."

Gray hesitantly shook his hand,

"And I'm Gray."

"Aye sir!" Happy chuckled before winking, "I figured that."

Gray felt a light blush spread across his cheeks and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Happy smiled at the anxious student in an effort to calm down the poor teen; Carla, the lovely guidance counselor, had informed him briefly of what occurred in Isvan that would cause his family to uproot so suddenly. What he learned was something that would definitely haunt him and he didn't even experience it first hand; he wanted to make Gray's transfer as smooth as possible.

"What do you say we head to class so you can meet your classmates?"

The raven swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded his head. Happy smile broadened as the teen followed him out of the office. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Gray glanced around himself and took in everything around him; but it could also be seen as paranoia as well… it was almost like he was waiting for someone to jump out at him. When they finally arrived at the classroom door, excited voices could be heard from the other side. Gray could feel the tension started to gather into his shoulders and found that he no longer wanted to move. He wasn't ready to go through with this at all; for the first time he wished that his overprotective brother and nosy sister were the same age as him… wishes like that never happened… **ever**.

"So Gray," Happy glanced up at him with his huge brown eyes, "Are you ready?"

The raven hesitated before nodding numbly at his teacher's inquiry. Happy-sensei opened the door slowly and the noise in the room instantly silenced. Keeping his head down and letting his hair cover his eyes, Gray slowly followed his teacher into the tension-filled classroom; it has only been a few seconds and he could already hear some whispers. Gray stopped beside Happy-sensei, swallowed thickly and slowly lifted his head so he could address his class. As expected, a few gasps erupted and he wanted nothing more than to curl in on himself and escape.

"All right guys," Happy-sensei called, "This is Gray and he'll be joining us for the rest of the year."

A hand instantaneously shot up into the air and began to frantically wave it back and forth. The pale hand belonged to a girl with long, blue, curly hair and bright blue eyes. She was practically vibrating in her seat and staring at him intently; it made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Yes Juvia?" Happy-sensei smiled, but even Gray could tell it was forced.

"Where did you come from Gray-sama?" She practically shouted at him.

Gray-sama? Why was the calling him that and why was she yelling at him? He shuffled his feet slightly before answering her question quietly,

"Isvan."

"Oh, you're from the Northern continent?" A girl with blonde hair inquired and he nodded faintly, "Do you have any siblings?"

"Uh yeah," Gray nodded, "They're in the year ahead of us though."

"What are their names?" A strawberry blonde boy asked as he winked, "And are they sisters?"

Gray raised an eyebrow and folded his arms across his chest,

"Ultear and Lyon, but I warn you if you try anything with Ultear she'll probably kick your ass."

The class laughed at that and the blonde boy pouted at his comment; oh yes, Ultear would definitely kick his ass. He glanced around the room to see if he was finished and his eyes landed on a boy with pink hair; the boy from the park. Gray was hoping that he wasn't in that guy's class, but of course life hated him. He rubbed his underarms nervously and Happy-sensei seemed to notice his agitation because he stepped forward,

"Are there any more questions for Gray?"

"Just one," A boy with black hair and red eyes ground out deeply, "What the hell happened to your face?"

Gray flinched as if he was slapped,

"A fire."

Quiet whispers once again erupted throughout the class and Gray cursed his luck and the loud mouth raven.

"We should probably start class now," Happy-sensei announced, "Gray, take the empty seat next to the window beside Natsu; the pink haired boy."

Yup, today wasn't his day.

Gray adjusted his bag again before walking towards the only empty seat in the room. Without glancing at or acknowledging the pinkette Gray sat down. Although, he didn't pull out any of his books or pens. He simply leaned over his desk and rested his hand on his chin; out of the corner of his eyes he noticed his faint scars. He crossed his arms over his chest instead and stared blankly ahead and pretended to listen to what Happy-sensei was saying; he could read over the text book later. He let memories of Isvan ensnare him as he zoned out; what he didn't notice were the curious green eyes watching his every move.

TBC

**Here's another chapter of Escape! I'm actually totally into this story right now and I'm happy that all of you are liking it too :) I hope there's a bunch of mystery for you guys and I hope that the characters aren't too OOC, though they probably are :P And yes, I made Happy, Carla and Lily human just cause it would be weird for cats to teach in the modern world lol :P Waiting on your reviews!**

**-sktrgrl**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

**Warnings: Future Yaoi, Language and Violence**

_Flames licking against his skin…_

_Menacing, mocking laughter surrounding him…_

_Blood covered hands reaching towards his neck…_

_His family's cries could be heard through the suffocating smoke…_

_He knew that they wouldn't be able to reach him in time…_

_Zayn had won…_

"GRAY!"

The raven's eyes snapped open and barely stopped himself from falling out of his chair. When he managed to right himself, he glanced around the classroom and realized that it was nearly empty; empty except for the pink haired teen from that morning leaning over him with a confused look on his face. Gray hoped that he hadn't said anything while he fell asleep; that would be more than a little problematic. He immediately shifted his gaze from the leering pinkette and started to put his bag over his shoulder so he could escape the calculating stare.

"Wait!" The pinkette latched onto his wrist.

Gray's arm tensed before he yanked it out of the boy's surprisingly strong grip,

"What do you want?"

"I, uh," The taller teen stuttered, "I was wondering if you'd want to eat lunch with me and my friends?"

"No."

He turned his back on the pinkette before another word could escape his mouth and left the classroom. Luckily, the halls were vacant and he could hide out in peace; hopefully somewhere Lyon and Ultear wouldn't find him. He didn't know where he was going, but he figured he'd know when he got there. As he was walking, he noticed a set of stairs to the left of him that seemed to be leading to the roof. He slowly made his way up the stairs and onto the roof; the view that met him when he made it was definitely not what he was expecting. Different shades of green were spread out before him like a mismatched quilt. The houses resembled little dots that could be the stitching connecting the squares together and the river running freely through the town was the flawless design that decorated the blanket. The sun beat down on his pale skin causing a tingling feeling to travel up his arms; it was both comforting and unwanted at the same time.

Maybe he could grow to like it here…

"Do you make it a habit of running away?"

And maybe not so much…

"Do _you_ make a habit of following people around even though it's obvious that you're not wanted?" Gray rolled his eyes before turning towards the annoying pinkette.

"I just…" The green eyed boy rubbed the back of his neck, "I just know what it's like to be alone…"

"Who said I'm alone?!"He spat defensively, "Some people just like time their-selves you nosy dumbass, so get a fucking clue and leave me alone!"

The pinkette snorted and folded his arms across his chest,

"You can _say_ what you want, but the way you react to everything is a different story."

Gray had absolutely nothing to say to that; people generally left him alone, afraid of what would happen if they got close to him, but this guy was a piece of work. He folded his own arms across his chest and shifted his blue eyes from the green ones once again avoiding eye contact. He heard the pinkette's exasperated sigh before he felt the warm hands on top of his shoulders. Gray automatically flinched from the touch and took a step back.

"Why do you do that?" The taller boy inquired.

"Do what?" Gray muttered, still avoiding all contact.

"Flinch and get all fidgety like that when you're around other people?" He asked bluntly.

The raven found himself rubbing the undersides of his arms again,

"It's nothing… just leave it alone, alright?"

"Whatever you say ice block."

Gray did a double take at the uncalled for nickname,

"What did you call me?"

"Ice Block," The pinkette smirked as he headed back towards the stairs, "You're as cold as a block of ice Gray; not many people can survive like that."

The raven raised an eyebrow before smirking himself,

"But I, unlike many others, come from the permanently snow covered land of Isvan; I can withstand the cold much longer than anyone else Pinky."

"That may be true Gray, but all ice melts sometime; especially here in Magnolia." The teen winked back at him, "Oh and my name is Natsu, not Pinky as you keep calling me."

The blue eyed teen couldn't help but watch as the pink haired teen disappeared from view. He walked over to the roof's side and curled his fingers between the holes in the fence. A soothing wind splayed across his surprisingly warm skin, cooling it down to a more comfortable temperature.

Yes, he thought, ice could be melted, but it depends if there is something warm enough to set it free…

FTFTFTFT

"Where is he?!" Lyon ranted as he walked down the hallway, "I need to give him his damn lunch already!"

Ultear sighed and tried to pretend that she wasn't related to the raving lunatic who was standing beside her. Her twin had been ranting about finding their missing younger brother since lunch started; lunch had started almost a half hour ago. She could feel the eyes of other students staring at them as they searched for Gray in the crowded hall. Of course she knew that their dear younger brother would be in a secluded area, Lyon however was just too dense to actually figure that out…

Dumbass…

"Lyon, if Gray doesn't want to be found, we're not going to find him." Ultear sighed sadly, "You know that."

"I know," His onyx eyes glinted, "And that's what pisses me off so goddamn much!"

"NO SHOUTING IN THE HALLS!"

The Milkovich twins looked behind them to see the source of the voice when they saw an infuriated red head stomping towards them with a malicious glint in her eyes. They both recognized her from their class, but they couldn't remember her name all too well; but they did remember the fear that the room seemed to permeate from her very presence. They watched her silently as she approached them; she stood in front of them with her hands placed firmly on her hips and leaned over them intimidatingly.

"Ultear and Lyon Milkovich," The red head growled, "Transfer students from Isvan and reside in class 3-A, professor Mirajane Strauss is your teacher."

Ultear scoffed and rolled her eyes,

"Obviously, we're in your class."

The scarlet glared at her briefly before turning her attention to the male twin,

"Lyon Milkovich, I suggest you keep your voice down, or you'll be stuck in detention scrubbing the toilets with a toothbrush…"

"That's not bad…" Lyon snorted.

"Do not interrupt Milkovich," The scarlet smirked, "You will be scrubbing the toilets in the locker rooms with a toothbrush."

At that moment, the locker room doors they were standing next to opened and an undistinguishable stench flooded their nostrils. Lyon gagged on the smell and his face turned green; there was absolutely no way in hell that he was setting foot in that stink hole. Ultear watched the red head with a raised eyebrow and a smirk of her own.

"I like the way you think Scarlet," The raven's smile broadened, "We should hang out sometime."

Lyon paled as soon as the words left her lips; along with every single bystander in the hallway. The only people crazy enough to hang out with Erza Scarlet was Natsu's crew, but they were harmless; Ultear Milkovich on the other hand screamed Erza Scarlet 2.0… more conniving and more vicious. Erza glanced at Ultear again and a satisfied smile spread across her face,

"Sounds like a plan Milkovich… you ever think about joining the student council as Vice-President? The seat is still vacant from when the last member quit…"

"More like he escaped…" Lyon mumbled.

"What did you say?" Erza demanded darkly.

"Nothing!" Lyon squeaked before turning tail and making his way to safety.

Ultear on the other stuck out her hand,

"You got yourself a deal."

FTFTFTFT

"Hey Natsu!" Lucy called, "Where did you disappear to?"

The pinkette smiled at his group of friends as he walked over to them and leaned against the tree. They were all waiting for him to answer, but he was too busy trying to stuff his face at the moment. He thought he only had time to pack three lunches instead of the usual five today so he was starving. His four of his five friends waited patiently for him to scarf down his first meal while Gajeel Redfox merely rolled his eyes and ignored him completely. Soon Natsu was opening his second box when Lucy spoke up again,

"Where were you?"

Natsu shrugged slightly,

"Just talking to Gray…"

"NATSU-KUN WAS TALKING TO GRAY-SAMA?!" Juvia squealed loudly causing everyone to wince.

"Yeah…" Natsu watched her wearily, "He fell asleep in class so I just woke him up."

Juvia looked as if she was about to say something else when the second blue haired girl of the group spoke up,

"What did you guys talk about?"

"I asked him to come to lunch with us, he wasn't interested."

"No shit," Gajeel mumbled as one of his red eyes opened lazily, "The kid's a freak; he screams antisocial and for a good reason too."

"Shut the hell up Gajeel," Natsu spat, "You don't know anything."

"Want to bet Dragneel?"

Green clashed with red and the tension passing between the two of them was nearly suffocating. Lucy and Juvia backed away slightly while Loke and Levy seemed curious. Loke placed his hand on Natsu's shoulder to gain his attention while Levy sat on her boyfriend's lap to distract him.

"Gajeel," Loke started, "What do you know?"

Gajeel smirked as he wrapped his arms around Levy's small waist before beginning,

"A little over a year ago in Isvan, a family of five lost their house in a huge fire that nearly burned down the entire neighbourhood. The father died, the mother, a son and a daughter escaped the flames with minor burns while one son escaped with severe burns to the face and neck. When the police investigated the realized that the boy had been suicidal and had probably set the fire himself… that boy was none other than Gray Milkovich-Fullbuster."

"You have no proof that the story's true!" Natsu roared.

"But the story does seem to fit…" Lucy shifted nervously.

"Why just cause he's from Isvan and scars on his face from a fire?!" He growled, "He could've gotten those burns at any time during his life."

"Natsu has a point too." Levy conceded with a shrug.

"But…"

"I suggest you guys shut the hell up right now before I knock your fucking teeth in."

All five heads swivelled and were surprised to find a white haired teen glaring at them with the darkest scowl on his face. A chill travelled down each of their spines (except maybe Gajeel) as the teen walked towards them. His fists were balled at his sides and he looked like he wanted to murder each and every one of them with his bare hands.

"Who the hell are you?" Gajeel spat.

"Lyon Milkovich," The white haired teen growled, "And if you don't stop talking about shit you don't know a thing about, I'll beat your fucking skulls in."

"Milkovich?" Lucy asked, "As in Gray's brother?"

Lyon nodded stiffly and continued to glare at Gajeel… if looks could kill…

Gajeel would be dust…

"We didn't mean any harm," Loke tried to placate the enraged teen, "We're just curious and Gajeel he had heard a story…"

"Well it's not just a story; it was living hell." Lyon spat, "If any of you were in his place you wouldn't have survived and that is something I can guarantee."

TBC

**Hey guys! Here's another update… this is more or less a filler chapter, but I hope you enjoy it any way. I wanna know what you think of the team up between Erza and Ultear… will the students of Fairy Tail High survive? :P I also wanna know if the confrontation between Lyon and Natsu's Crew was too cheesy… also the moment between Gray and Natsu. Waiting for your reviews!**

**-sktrgrl**

**Ps. I'm thinking about changing my pen name to "OnePieceofFairyTail" so if I do and an update pops up under that author... it is still me!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, but I do own this plot.**

**Warnings: Future Yaoi, Language and Violence**

**I want to dedicate this chapter to YaoixJoe 3 for getting me to find the inspiration for this chapter before I leave for my Family Reunion! So I hope you enjoy it YaoixJoe 3 because it's only up because of you! :)**

The wind continued to ruffle Gray's raven hair as he gazed around the campus. Little moving specks could be seen running around and talking in little groups. In ways, he sort of envied their carefree attitudes, but he also knew that being too carefree could lead to pain and loneliness. He was tired of feeling this way, but he just didn't have the strength to fight it anymore; he fought for so long and in the end it cost him his father's life. At times he wondered if Lyon and Ultear hated him; if it weren't for him, their dad would be alive and they would still be in Isvan with their friends. Ultear would still be with Meredy ruling the school and Lyon would still be dating Sherry while hanging out with Yuka and Toby. If he had never met _him_, he would be living a normal life… he wouldn't be a freak… but in a way, that's what made falling in love with _him _that easily.

He was already alone… but he has always _wanted_ and _needed_ someone to love him…

He wanted to feel like he belonged somewhere…

And that's what _he _did… too bad that it ruined whatever life he had left in the process…

Gray watched the people below him until a familiar head of silvery-white hair exploded through the front door. Even though he could only see the top of his dear brother's head, he knew for a fact that it was Lyon. Only one person would dash out of a school that fast for no reason and that would be Lyon Milkovich… then again… Ultear was probably the one who freaked him out in the first place; she usually was the cause after all. He could see that Lyon's hands were empty, which means he probably lost his lunch somewhere along the way or put it in his locker. Gray sighed as he turned his back on the fence and made his way towards campus. Absolutely nothing was going to stop him from eating his lunch, especially since he knew his mom probably put some flavoured ice chunks in there.

Gray kept his head down as he all but ran through the halls and out the front door. He lifted his head to look for his older brother and found his gravity defying hair immediately. He shoved his hands in him pockets and made his way over with a smirk on his face. Gray raised a dark brow when he noticed that Lyon's stance was offensive and was yelling at a group of teens. He quickened his pace so that he could stop his brother from doing something stupid on the first day. As he got closer, he instantaneously recognized a pink haired teen in the middle of the group; he looked just as, if not more, furious than Lyon. They were both glaring at the red eyed boy who asked him about his burns in class…

He could only imagine what that asshole said now.

"Oi Lyon," Gray called, "What's up?"

The silverette's head snapped up and looked back at him; his onyx eyes holding a mix of anger and fear. Gray scrunched his eyebrows at the sliver of fear; it could only mean he was afraid that he had heard something. Honestly, Lyon should have known that students here would talk… he's just too damn overprotective for his own good. Although, he guessed that his older brother had justifiable reasons this time around; even if Gray didn't particularly like it.

"Nothing…"

"Let me guess," Gray sighed as he looked over at his classmates, "It's about what happened to my face right? You heard that I'm some suicidal idiot who set a fire believing that no one was home and ended up murdering my own father in the process?"

The blonde girl who asked him about his siblings, the loud mouth Juvia, the super smart girl, and the playboy all looked away from him guiltily. The red eyed teen just smirked and crossed his arms across his chest smugly; at least Gray knew who told them the story. Natsu, however, looked him straight in the eye and he knew just from that look that he was completely against the whole thing even happening; he probably tried to defend him too.

Wow… this guy was definitely different…Not that that was going to change anything…

Nope… not at all…

"Listen, you guys can think what you want and however you want." Gray glanced away from them and looked at Lyon, "And you don't go defending me, they're just exchanging stories, that's all."

"Gray…"

"Lyon, just let it go." He whispered, "No harm was done."

"Fine…" Lyon growled, "I'll see you after school…"

"Actually, I'm not feeling too well so I'm going to head home." He glanced away from his brother.

"What's up?" The worry plain in his voice; great… he had awoken the brother-hen.

"Just didn't get enough sleep last night," He forced a yawn, "I'll see you and Ul when you guys get home."

The silverette nodded his head hesitantly,

"Okay, we'll pick up your homework when we leave. Your teacher is Happy-sensei, yeah?"

"Yeah, see you later."

Lyon squeezed Gray's shoulder as he walked towards the school. Gray turned to leave the awkwardly silent group when the bell signalled the end of lunch. The group of friends got to their feet and started to make their way to class; he could feel their eyes on him as they passed him, but he just brushed it off before leaving campus himself. He did not plan on going home, his mom would flip if she found out he was skipping. She was cool about a lot of things, but school was something that she prided in. She used to be a teacher in Isvan herself, but had to give it up when she moved; Magnolia had no open teaching positions for the elementary schools.

That's another life ruined because of his actions.

"Gray, wait up!"

A small groan escaped his lips and he resisted the urge to face palm; he should've know that the dumbass would follow him. Reluctantly, he slowed himself to a stop and waited for the teen to catch up. Luckily the idiot was fast and was standing next to him in a matter of seconds; he was gasping for breath, but it was still pretty impressive.

"What do you want this time Pinky?"

"Nothing," Natsu smiled, "Just didn't feel like being in class anymore; the same as you."

Gray chuckled under his breath and raised an eyebrow,

"I'm pretty sure I'm going home sick."

"Yeah, and we both know that's bullshit ice block," Natsu moved to put his arm around his shoulders but stopped, "So I thought you'd want to look around Magnolia to see what it has to offer."

Every particle within him was telling him to say 'hell no' and get out of there and never look back. At the same time he wanted to stay with the pinkette and see what would happen; he didn't want _him_ to control his life forever and this was the perfect way for him to finally let go.

"Sure Pinky, why not?"

Gray had to stifle a laugh at Natsu's expression; his mouth was hanging open and his green eyes were almost bugging right out of his head. The pinkette shook his head back and forth before a smile spread across his lips once more. Natsu latched on to his forearm and began to drag him along; the feeling he had in his chest from the morning returned full force. Gray automatically wrenched his hand out of the pinkette's grip causing Natsu's face to shift to a worried frown; but instead of running off like he usually did, Gray just sped up so that he was walking side by side with Natsu instead of behind him. Almost immediately, Natsu's smile returned and he started to chat excitedly. Gray kept his hands in his pockets and his head down, but if someone were to look close enough…

They would see a small smile…

FTFTFTFT

Lucy sat with her arms on her desk and her head pillowed in her hands. Happy-sensei was teaching about fish again, but she couldn't even pay attention enough to get frustrated with him. Her mind kept wandering back to what happened at lunch with Lyon and Gray. The upperclassman looked as if he was going to explode; she's never seen anyone so angry in her life. Actually, that's a lie… Natsu was that angry last year when the students of Oracian Seis attacked the school. Erza was hurt badly and it was unsure if she was going to make it; the pinkette went nuts and beat up their group leader, Brain… that had to be the scariest moment she has ever seen.

After Lyon finished shouting at them, she thought that he was going to kill Gajeel will his bare hands, but then Gray himself showed up. He was the one who surprised her the most; he wasn't mad at them… not even in the slightest. He just shrugged it off and said that it was okay; it was obvious that things weren't okay, but he just pretended he was so that Lyon wouldn't get in trouble. When they went inside for class, Natsu said that he was going to go home; which wasn't too surprising to be completely honest. It's more than a little obvious that he likes Gray, but of course he was in denial. Lucy sighed and glanced at the front of the class only to realize that Happy-sensei was M.I.A and the class was talking animatedly; looks like he went to go flirt with Carla-sensei again.

"Lucy, are you okay?" Loke asked, "You weren't paying attention all class."

"I just feel like a complete bitch." She whined as she banged her head on her desk.

Loke sighed and moved his desk so it was beside hers,

"Yeah, I feel bad too; we shouldn't have listened to Gajeel."

"Whatever Loke, you wanted me to in the first place." Gajeel growled, "You can't pin this on me."

Levy sat on the edge of Lucy's desk,

"I think the question is, is the story true."

"Well he didn't deny it…" Loke shrugged.

"Who didn't deny what?"

The four of them snapped out of their conversation to see Erza Scarlet leering over them with her familiar menacing aura. Right beside her was a pale girl with long raven hair and calculating brown eyes; the aura that was coming off her was just as bad as Erza's. All of four of them, that's right even Gajeel, shrunk in their seats and tried to avoid their eye contact. Loke elbowed Lucy in the side causing her to gasp which in turn pulled Erza's attention to her… she had absolutely no choice now.

"H-Hey Erza," She stuttered nervously, "Who's your new friend?"

"This is Ultear Milkovich," Erza smiled, "She's the new vice president of the Student Council."

"M-Milkovich?" Loke rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"AS IN GRAY-SAMA'S SISTER!"

Juvia latched her arms onto the pale girl's arm and smiled at her brightly. The raven sneered down at the blunette and Juvia immediately let go and stepped away. The entire classroom simultaneously gulped at her expression while Erza smiled happily.

"So," Ultear smiled darkly, "You must be the students that Lyon was fuming about in the classroom."

"Y-Yes ma'am."

"I'm sorry for the way he treated you," Ultear muttered, "When it comes to Gray, he gets a little… protective."

"Why?" Gajeel chuckled, "That's strange considering Gray's a sophomore."

"Gajeel Redfox, correct?" Ultear sneered, "According to Lyon, you seem to know a lot about our family."

"I've heard a few things."

"Well, maybe if you knew more than a few things, you'd know the story is a lot more complex."

"Can you…"

"No," Ultear cut off Lucy, "If he wants to tell you, he will."

Ultear turned on her heel and left, everyone's eyes following her as she exited the room. The class started to relax when they realized that Erza was still in the room with them. Erza slammed her fists down on Lucy's desk causing everyone to jump; Lucy thought she was going to have a heart attack.

"I suggest that you five," She looked pointedly at Juvia, Gajeel, Levy, Loke and Lucy, "grab your toothbrushes because those locker rooms need a good cleaning."

TBC

**Another chapter! I'm proud of myself only one day time period and the chapter's pretty good too. I'm starting to open up the doors to the NatsuxGray fluff, but I just don't want to rush it too much. The drama will be entering the story soon enough along with a couple month time skip lol. I hope you like the chapter! Waiting on your reviews! :)**

**-sktrgrl**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Me no own Fairy Tail :(**

**Warnings: Future Yaoi, Language and Violence**

A warm wind continued to blow through Magnolia as they walked downtown. Natsu couldn't stop the wide smile from spreading across his face when he noticed that the raven was still walking beside him… not only was he walking beside him, but he seemed happy too. The pinkette's eyes wandered over the slightly smaller raven out of the corner of his eye; Gray actually did seem more relaxed than Natsu had ever seen him. He was pretty sure that he even caught a smile on the raven's face when he had first asked Gray to hang around town with him. The pinkette would be lying if he said that he wasn't surprised that he had agreed to hang out; until that moment Natsu was about 99.9% sure that Gray hated his guts. If someone were to tell him that he would be walking down the street eating ice cream with the most mysterious, antisocial male in the history of the world he would've laughed is ass off.

Not only was the raven happy, Natsu could definitely say that today was one of the best days of his teen life. Sure, he's been to every single shop down Main Street over a billion times, but this time was different. Like when they went into the Strauss' Ice Cream Parlour a few minutes ago; lucky for them Elfman was the one running the counter today and his wife Evergreen was nowhere to be seen… that meant that he would get a free cone; SCORE! The best part of that little escapade wasn't the ice cream though… it was Gray meeting Elfman. Every time Gray heard the friendly giant say 'man' his eyebrow would twitch in annoyance… and well 'man' was a frequently used adjective in Elfman's mental dictionary…

A _very _frequently used word… Gray was told to be a man the entire time they were there… let's just say Elfman was lucky that the pinkette was there to distract the easily annoyed raven from punching the hulk-like man to the moon.

But Natsu's favourite part of the day was what happened before they went to the ice cream parlour; the beach. The pinkette would always remember the childlike smile that spread across the smaller teen's pale face and the sparkle that appeared in the once lifeless deep blue eyes. It was obvious that Gray had never been to a sandy beach in his life, not only because he knew that the raven was from Isvan, but also because he practically jumped out of his shoes and buried his toes in the sand. All the tension that had gathered in Gray's shoulders was gone at that moment and the sun beat down on him like a beacon of hope while the beach wind ruffled the raven locks. Natsu had to hold back a chuckle when he saw Gray's nose wrinkle from the strong smell of sea salt…

That's when he saw it…

That's when he saw how beautiful the raven teen actually was…

"What are you staring at Pinky?"

Natsu jumped slightly and fought desperately to make the blush that was threatening to spread across his cheeks disappear. Judging by the smirk that formed on Gray's face, he didn't do very well. He glanced away from the raven while muttering under his breath and placed his hands behind his head.

"Nothing ice block, I thought I saw a bug in your hair or something."

Gray's low chuckle reached his ears and out of the corner of his eyes he saw that he was shaking his head. The pinkette sighed and adjusted his backpack on his shoulder in order to distract himself. Maybe Lucy was right… what if he did like Gray… it would explain why he was always thinking about him… didn't it?

Oh hell no…

He couldn't like the damn ice block…

That would defy the laws of physics… Gray was quiet and Natsu was loud… that in itself proved that they would not work very well. But he had to admit… Gray looked adorable with that small amount of vanilla ice cream on his top lip. Natsu felt another blush spread across his face and tried to chase his bad thoughts away. Instead he forced a carefree chuckle and tossed a napkin at the innocent raven's face.

"Have a problem eating ice cream or something?" He teased.

"Shut up fire breath!" A tint of red made itself known on the pale teen's nose.

Natsu nearly tripped over his own feet before staring at Gray with a raised eyebrow,

"Fire breath?"

"That's what I said." Gray shrugged with a smirk before finishing his cone, "Who in their right mind would put cinnamon hearts and spices on an ice cream cone; they're called _ice _cream cones for a reason you know."

"Whatever." Natsu laughed before shaking his head, "So, what do you want to do now?"

"How would I know; you're the tour guide Pinky."

The pinkette threw his hands into the air in exasperation; Gray couldn't decide on anything the whole afternoon… he was beginning to think that the ice bastard was doing it just to piss him off. Natsu glanced down at his watch and saw that it was already four in the evening; school has been out for an hour now so they could practically do anything they wanted without worrying about getting caught. His eyes wandered to the teen standing next to him once more and he noticed the slight lag in his footsteps; he wouldn't be surprised if the heat had gotten to Gray from all the walking that they did.

"We could always go to my place," He smiled, "Dad isn't home and I have a shit ton of video games."

"What system?"

"Play Station 4…"

"I'm in!"

FTFTFTFT

It didn't take very long for them to get to the pinkette's house, but when they did Gray couldn't stop his mouth from dropping open. It had to be almost three stories and had a big ass gate surrounding it. He could've sworn that he saw men in suits standing the shadows as well… just who in the HELL was Natsu Dragneel. He didn't even realize that he stopped walking until Natsu was standing at his front door looking back at him; even from a distance the raven could tell that the taller teen was trying to suppress a laugh.

"Are you okay over there?"

"You didn't tell me you live in a mansion!" Gray shouted as he ran to the door, "Just who are you?!"

"I'll tell you if you tell me." Natsu smiled slyly.

Gray sighed before running a hand through his hair in defeat,

"Maybe another time… okay?"

The pinkette's green eyes brightened as he smiled,

"Okay."

Natsu opened the door and led Gray inside the grand house; he couldn't stop his head from swiveling around in an attempt to take in everything. The pinkette toed off his shoes and motioned for the raven to do so as well; Gray almost fell on his face from being too distracted, luckily Natsu didn't tease him mercilessly for it. He stared up at the extravagant chandelier hanging from the ceiling and the ornate winding staircase that led up to the second and third floors. Deep burgundy drapes hung gracefully from all the windows and the walls were painted a welcoming beige colour that allowed light to gather in the room. The place was immaculately clean; clean as in stepford housewives clean… it was kind of creepy.

Gray was so busy looking around that he didn't even notice as Natsu's hand wrapped around the strap of his bag. In moments, the raven was tripping over his feet as he was pulled up the stairs two at a time; he was pretty sure that if he wasn't able to keep up with the energetic pinkette he would've been pulled up the stairs with his head banging off every single step. After what seemed like an eternity, the two teens finally made it onto the second floor; Natsu finally released Gray when they made it onto the landing. The raven was doubled over with his hands on his knees in an attempt to gather more air into his lungs; he was far from being out of shape, but damn… those stairs were killer.

"You could've told me you wanted to go upstairs dumbass!" Gray growled as he straightened.

However, when he glanced up Natsu was nowhere to be seen; it was like he disappeared into thin air. Gray crossed his arms impatiently and started his way down the long hall in an effort to find the pinkette without getting lost. As he 'explored', he noticed that this level of the house was completely different from the first… this floor looked lived in. A bunch of junk and clothes littered the floor and the colour of the walls was an angry red with some black and white mixed in here and there. There were also a collage of photos on the wall; a lot of them starred a much younger Natsu. In every one of them, he was posing with a beautiful brown haired woman with the brightest green eyes that Gray had ever seen; they were almost as bright as Natsu's. He also noticed how big the pinkette's smile was in each and every one of them; it was obvious that Natsu loved this woman.

"Oi Gray, where'd you go?"

Guiltily, the raven whipped around with a light burn spreading across his cheeks. He kept his eyes to the ground so that he wouldn't have to face the most likely angry teen. He felt a warm hand on his shoulder which immediately caused his head to snap up. Surprisingly, he didn't flinch or step back; he just stood there and looked into the ocean of green standing before him. There was a hint of sadness, but understanding in those orbs that made Gray relax instantaneously.

"So you met my mom?" Natsu whispered.

"Yeah…" Gray muttered, "S-Sorry…"

Natsu shrugged good naturedly and a warm smile spread across his tanned face,

"Hey, they're hanging on the wall… in the open… you don't need to apologize ice block."

The raven finally stepped away from Natsu's hand as if he burned him. He noticed the faint look of hurt on the pinkette's face, but he forced himself to ignore it. Gray looked back at the pictures behind him and smiled at the happy memories sadly,

"What happened to her?"

"Illness…" Natsu murmured, "Cancer."

"Sorry…"

"It's fine," The taller teen chuckled silently, "You want to watch a movie? I'm not really in the mood to game, you know?"

Gray nodded slightly and rubbed his underarms methodically. Natsu quirked his eyebrow and opened his mouth as if to say something before turning away. The raven sighed and ran his hand through his hair; it seemed that he had been doing that a lot lately… stupid habit…

"You can ask you know…" Gray whispered as he followed Natsu, "It won't hurt my feelings."

"The question is whether or not you'll tell the truth." Natsu pointed out before sighing himself, "Why do you do that when you're nervous; like, rub your underarms?"

He stepped in front of Natsu causing the teen to stop in his tracks briefly. Gray took a deep breath before revealing his underarms to his new… his new… he actually didn't know what to call Natsu to be honest. Were they friends or did the pinkette simply pity him like everyone else? He noticed the green eyes widen in shock as he stared down at the massively scarred arms. The pinkette slowly lifted a hand and went to run one of his tanned fingers over the scars. Gray surprised himself again by letting Natsu do just that…

How many walls was he going to let this boy break?

"W-Why?" Natsu whispered.

Gray couldn't get himself to meet the teen's eyes so he settled his gaze on the floor once more,

"You heard I was suicidal…"

"But why?"

"It's a long story," He whispered as he pulled his arms away, "I'll tell you it someday, but not now."

Instead of pushing him, Natsu simply nodded and reached for the raven's hand. Gray hesitantly placed his hand in his before letting the pinkette lead him down the hall. He couldn't stop thinking about the strange pinkette. There was just so many strange qualities about him that drew Gray like a moth to a flame… no matter how stupidly cheesy it sounded…he simply just wanted to stay with Natsu. When he was with Natsu he _felt_… for the first time in a year, Gray was actually able to feel and for the first time in a year he liked his emotions.

He was so deep in thought that he didn't even realize when they were sitting on a couch. A movie was already starting and the opening theme was playing through the room. He didn't think he was that deep in thought, but clearly he was mistaken. He glanced over at Natsu and realized for the first time that he had changed out of his uniform. He now wore sweatpants, a baggy t-shirt and a… scarf… in this weather? Gray raised an eyebrow, but turned his attention to the tv.

After a while, his eyes started to droop closed and what was happening in the movie was starting to jumble together. He swayed slightly before his body teetered to the side and landed on something firm, yet comfortable. Just in case he had fallen on Natsu, Gray went to push himself back up, however, something started to card its way through his hair. He tried to fight the sleep that was starting to consume him, but after waking up at 5:30 in the morning and walking around all afternoon, it was a lost cause… Besides, he knew that Natsu wouldn't hurt him; he knew that as long as he was with Natsu he was safe.

After all…

Natsu Dragneel was his friend…

TBC

**Sorry for the late chapter guys… I had trouble with writer's block! I hope this chapter was at least decent because of all the hell that it put me through. There's some fluff going on up in here and I'm a fan of it :P Looks like the boys are learning about each other and Gray is finally letting go… but the question is… how long will it last until their world comes crumbling down?! Waiting on your reviews!**

**-sktrgrl :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Mashima owns our beloved Fairy Tail while I own all my very corrupt OCs -.-**

**Warnings: Future Yaoi, Language and Violence**

Natsu tried to suppress the smile that threatened to spread across his face. He continued to run his fingers through Gray's soft raven hair as the teen slept on his lap. The pinkette couldn't help but notice how relaxed the boy looked while he slept. The tense worry lines that usually plagued the alabaster skin had been smoothed out and a small smile even pulled at the corner of his lips. Natsu wondered what Gray was dreaming about to make him smile like that. He sighed when he thought of his apparent 'feelings' for the smaller teen. As Gray lay on his lap, he knew that he did feel something for him… he just didn't know exactly what it was though.

Sigh… He'll definitely need to talk to Lucy about this.

His mind wandered to when Gray found the photos of his mother in the hallway. He'd never forget the frightened and saddened expression that flitted across his normally stoic face at that moment. Natsu was both touched and confused; when he had caught him, he was pretty sure that Gray flinched… it was like he thought he was going to get attacked or something. He wondered what had happened to make the raven flinch like he did; not only that, but what happened to make him cut up his arms. A small shudder travelled down his spine when he thought of the moment the pale arms were shoved under his nose.

_You heard I was suicidal…_

For some reason, he didn't believe that bullshit… sure, Gajeel said that's what happened and it wasn't denied, but there had to be more to the story. The look in Lyon's eyes when he confronted them even said so; there was so much pain and remorse in those eyes that it was almost painful to look at. It got even worse when Gray arrived on the scene; he looked like he wanted to punch someone in the face and cover his younger brother's ears and lead him away.

Not only that, but the story Gajeel told didn't make sense in some places; like he said that Gray attempted to commit suicide by burning his house down without knowing his Dad was inside with him. If someone were to commit suicide, they wouldn't want to risk the chance that someone else would be around; they would check every corner of the house to make sure no one was around. Something else had to have happened… but what?

Suddenly, a low whimper reached his ears causing his hand to still. Natsu glanced down to see that the once relaxed face contorted into something much more painful. His eyebrows had drawn together and sweat was trailing down his cheeks; his body was trembling in the pinkette's arms as if the muscles were spasm-ing.

"Gray…"

"D-Don't hurt them…" Gray's voice cracked painfully, "P-Please, I-I'll do whatever you want…"

"Gray, you have to wake up." Natsu pleaded in an attempt to free his new friend from his prison.

"Yes… I'll even die so that no one else can have me…" The raven whispered, "I only belong to you…"

Natsu grabbed a hold of the trembling teen's shoulders and tried shaking him slightly. If anything, the raven tried to curl in on himself and sobs began to wrack the smaller body. Gray's breathing hitched frantically while his limbs kicked and punched at nothing. The pinkette's heart nearly broke when he saw the rivers of tears flowing down the teen's already sweat soaked cheeks.

"NO! DAD! YOU HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!" He screamed, "Zayn, you promised that they would be safe if I stayed… YOU PROMISED!"

"GRAY WAKE UP!"

Natsu had to jump back as the raven jumped forward with forced gasps. The teen glanced around frantically, trying to gain his bearings; trying to figure out if he was safe. The pinkette slowly approached Gray and reached out to touch his shoulder comfortingly. However, at the slightest sign of movement, Gray flinched away and dove towards the floor and away from Natsu. He pushed back the hurt that seemed to gather in his chest from the action and waited patiently for Gray to adjust.

"Are you okay?" Natsu asked hesitantly when it seemed that the raven had calmed down.

"I…I…" Gray struggled to get the words out of his mouth, "Y-Yeah…"

The pinkette tried once again to move closer to the raven and this time he succeeded. They were sitting so close to each other that their shoulders were brushing. Natsu forced himself to stay absolutely still when Gray laid his head on his shoulder. He had a feeling that any movement would make the raven move away again.

"Sorry." Gray whispered.

"You don't need to apologize ice block," Natsu whispered as he hesitantly wrapped his arm around Gray's shoulders, "It happens to everyone."

Natsu felt the raven's back muscles tense, but was relieved when he didn't avoid it. He wanted to ask what the dream was about, but he didn't want to break the small bridge of trust that had grown between the both of them. For obvious reasons, Natsu believed that it was about the raven's father's death; from what Gray was saying in his sleep, it definitely didn't sound like a suicide attempt.

Well… at one point it did… but it seemed like this Zayn person was forcing him to choose…

Just who was he and why did he have that power of Gray?

FTFTFTFT

Gray focused on getting his breathing under control and not freaking out more than he already has. His heart was beating rapidly against his rib cage and his burns were aching painfully; it was as if he was feeling the fire's searing kisses once again. Even worse, Natsu saw the entire thing; he now knew how disgustingly _broken_ he was. Gray swallowed back a whimper that had gathered in his throat and fought back the tears that so desperately wanted to escape their confines. He normally wouldn't care if someone was to leave him, after all he expected it, but when he thought of Natsu leaving…

It nearly tore him to pieces…

He didn't know what it was about the pinkette, but the mere thought was enough to send him into a heap. He didn't want to lose whatever relationship they managed to attain; sure they picked on each other constantly and he wasn't too fond of Natsu's enthusiastic personality, but at the same time Gray craved for him. Natsu _saw_ him… the damn fire breathing idiot could read him almost as good as Lyon and Ultear could and that in itself was just plan scary. Hell, maybe the pink haired teen would be able to rival his mom at some point…

…His mom…

"SHIT!" Gray hollered as he jumped to his feet, "What time is it?!"

Natsu just stared up at him with wide green eyes and a tanned hand pressed against his chest,

"Holy hell ice bastard, you nearly gave me a freaking heart attack!"

"WHAT TIME IS IT PINKY?!"

"Uh… I don't know… probably like six or something…" The pinkette muttered as he dug in his sweat pants for his cell phone.

"I'm so dead…" Gray face palmed as he hurried down the stairs and towards the front door.

"Hey! Wait up Gray, you can't go by yourself!"

"Like hell I can't," He argued, "You have no idea how much trouble I'm going to be in!"

As expected, Natsu's all too warm hand wrapped around his small wrist to prevent him from going anywhere. He turned his head to scream at the pinkette some more when their eyes connected. He noticed a strange fire in Natsu's green eyes that wanted to draw him in; it was like when they were up in the hallway again. Gray felt a blush creep across his cheeks and averted eye contact once again; as if he was going to let the fire bastard see his blush.

"You don't know the area that well," He argued as he held onto Gray's wrist tighter, "I'll take you home so that you're not out to all hours of the night."

Gray sighed and had to admit to himself that the idiot had a point,

"Can I at least use your phone so I can call my mom? I don't want her to have a coronary or something."

"Sure," Natsu smiled brightly, "I'll run upstairs and grab a sweater."

The pinkette tossed the raven his cell phone before running upstairs and leaving Gray to himself. Gray collected whatever courage and pride he had left, which wasn't a whole lot, and ruffled his hair. He prayed to every god he could think of as he dialed his phone number as slowly as possible. Time seemed to be going in slow motion; he felt like he was in _The Matrix_ or he only had one minute to defuse a bomb or something…

Maybe he wasn't too far off with that assessment…

His blood was pounding in his ears as he listened to the tone as it connected with his home phone. After the fifth or sixth ring someone finally answered… maybe they weren't mad at him after all…

"**Hello?"**

Oh great. Lyon.

…Even worse than mom…

"Uh, hi bro… it's Gray…" The raven whispered awkwardly.

"**WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!" **His brother roared into his ear, **"YOU TOLD ME YOU WERE GOING HOME!"**

"Yeah," He rubbed the back of his neck, "Sorry…is mom mad?"

He heard Lyon sigh exasperatedly,

"**No, we didn't tell her you bailed when we realized you weren't home. Ul just told her that you had to do a group project at the library."**

"And she believed you?!" His mouth dropped open.

"**Of course she did… she believes anything Ul tells her."** Lyon snorted quietly, **"So when are you getting your ass home?!"**

"Right now, Natsu is going to walk me home."

Silence was all that met him after that statement. At first Gray thought that they somehow got disconnected, but then he heard his brother's enraged breathing from the other end. He braced himself for the explosion that was bound to come. He heard the tell-tale sign of Lyon beginning a rant when a yelp was suddenly heard from the other side. Gray's heart started beating in his chest as he thought of the worst case scenarios. Was his family being attacked?! Had Zayn somehow broken out of the Mental Institution and come after them?! After all, Gray only belongs to him and no one else…

"**Hey Gray, you with me?" **

Ultear.

A sigh of relief escaped from him as the pounding in his chest slowed,

"Yeah, I'm here."

"**Good. Now what did you say that got Lyon so worked up?"**

"Said that Natsu was taking me home right now…"

"**Natsu? As in Natsu Dragneel?" **Ultear asked curiously, **"Huh, wasn't he in the group that pissed dumbass earlier today?"**

"Mhm… that would be why he's mad."

"**Makes sense."** Gray could almost hear her plotting from the other end, **"Anyways, you are coming home now then? You know we don't like it when you just disappear like that…"**

"I'm fine Ul," The raven whispered, "I'm on my way home now, okay? When I get back you two can scream at me as much as you want."

"**Deal. See you soon Gray, stay safe." **She whispered, **"Remember that we love you alright?"**

Before he could answer, she hung up the phone leaving on the disconnecting tone beeping in his ear. He honestly had the best siblings in the world; an entire year of ignoring them and they still do favours for him. Gray closed the cell phone and turned towards the staircase to see Natsu leaning against the railing. He pretty much looked the same, but now he had a dark red sweater on; even still had that scarf…

"You ready to go?" The pinkette asked.

The raven simply nodded and walked out the front door; as he walked down the drive he felt weight being placed on his shoulder. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Natsu had put his book bag on his shoulder for him; he couldn't believe that he almost left that behind. Now that the sun was going down a chilly wind was blowing causing goosebumps to rise up on his arms. Natsu on the other hand looked like he didn't have a care in the world; he looked perfectly content… maybe even a little hot.

"Oi, are you alright?" He asked with a raised brow.

"Uh… yeah…" _Damn you blush!_ "Just a little cold I guess."

The pinkette seemed thoughtful for a moment before another warm smile spread across his face,

"You could use my sweater if you want."

"No!" Gray denied as his blushed deepened, "I'm…"

However, he was cut off by Natsu stopping in front of him, stealing his bag and shoving his red sweater over his head. The sweater was baggy on Natsu, but on Gray it was basically a potato sack; albeit, a little comfier. Gray picked up his bag and looked away from the pinkette to hide the horrible red tint that refused to leave him alone.

"Where do you live anyways?"

"Rose Garden Avenue, the last house on the right." The raven whispered in embarrassment.

"That's only a couple blocks away from here!" Natsu shouted, "We should definitely walk to school together!"

"Uh…"

Gray nearly stopped walking causing the pinkette to walk a little ahead of him. The taller teen was smiling like crazy and the raven couldn't figure out why. Maybe he was happy that Gray was going to walk with him to school?

…Even if he actually hadn't said that he would…

The two teens walked in silence until they approached Gray's house. The two story house was a little on the smaller side, but he sure loved his large window that looked out over the street. He noticed that the lights were off except for the living room; the TV was still on so Lyon and Ultear were probably watching anime or something. Well that or they were spying like a couple of perverted voyeurs…

…NOT THAT THEY HAD ANYTHING TO SPY ON…

"So," Natsu whispered, "I'll see you tomorrow right?"

Gray glanced up at him and was nearly swallowed by the optimistic hope that engulfed the green orbs,

"Yeah," He smiled slightly, "After all, I have to give your sweater back right?"

Natsu chuckled light heartedly before turning to go back to his house,

"Right. See you later then ice block."

"You too fire breath." Gray whispered as he watched Natsu disappear into the night.

He turned to open the door to his own house when he paused. He buried his face into Natsu's red sweater, immersing himself in the scent of campfire and spices. He didn't know how this friendship with Natsu was going to work out…

But he did know that Natsu Dragneel was the one who had the power to melt the ice around his heart…

FTFTFTFT

He sat in the darkest corner of his room with his legs lying out in front of him. His pale arms were behind his head with his fingers interlaced. His brown hair hung in his face like a curtain and a smirk was firmly placed on his narrow face. A pale white bed lay in the far corner of the room still perfectly made; it looked as if it never had been slept in. He heard footsteps from behind his locked door so he knew that the meal was coming. He slowly, but determinedly pushed himself to his feet temporarily hiding his smirk behind a mask of exhaustion and submission. A large rap brought his attention back to the door and a small strip of fluorescent light spilled into his room as the orderly walked in with a tray.

"Patient #32479-8245, your meal is here come and eat."

The pale teen stepped into the light lethargically and approached the orderly timidly. His shaky hands reached out for the tray and grabbed it. As soon as he felt the cold metal in his hands he began to turn away. He listened as the orderly mumbled under his breath and turned his back…

Bad choice…

With a loud bang, the orderly fell to the ground with blood pooling around him; he reached down and grabbed the ring of keys out of the orderly's pocket. The smirk reintroduced itself onto the teen's face as he walked causally out of his room. He could hear jeers from the other patients as he passed, but that was the only orderly that gave out food at this time. He would've worried about the security cameras, but he already handled them earlier that day. He was about to walk out the front doors and no one would be the wiser until he was long gone.

"Don't worry Gray-chan," He muttered as the wind pushed the hair from his face revealing crimson eyes, "We'll be together again."

TBC

**DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN! **

**Hey guys! ****I'm sorry for the late update once again, but I hope this chapter makes up for it! Muwahahaha things are slowly starting to fall into place! Gray won't be able to hide his past for much longer and with Natsu slowly starting to figure it out all hell is going to break lose! What's going to happen next and what's going to become of our beloved Gray and Natsu?! Going to have to stay tuned to find out! Waiting for your reviews! :)**

**-sktrgrl**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

**Warning: Yaoi, Violence and Language**

Two months.

That's how long he has been in Magnolia, how long it's been since he met Natsu Dragneel and how long it's been since he made his first group of friends. If someone were to tell him that he would actually be sitting outside eating lunch with seven other people plus his brother and sister, he probably would've eaten his shoe. It only took two months for the pink haired, hot sauce obsessed idiot to make him come out of his shell; definitely had to be a world record somewhere. Gray chewed on his flavoured ice chunks silently as he regarded his group of friends.

The world was definitely full of surprises because his friends consisted of Natsu's friends; those same friends who asked him about his burns and started sharing stories about him. Yup, Loke Regulus, Lucy Heartfilia, Juvia Lockster (more of a stalker than a friend mind you…), Levy McGarden, Gajeel Redfox (yeah… that surprised him too) and the demon-like student council president/Ultear's long lost twin, Erza Scarlet. Gray was a little surprised to find that Lyon wanted to eat with them too because he seemed to hate their guts; but he soon realized that his white haired older brother was being a brother-hen… no surprise there after all. As for Ultear, she just went wherever Lyon went so that he wouldn't be a complete, arrogant idiot and she also adored Erza…sigh…match definitely made in hell.

And then there was Natsu…

"Oi, whatcha thinking about Gray?" He demanded through stuffed cheeks.

The raven chuckled at his best friend silently before rolling his eyes,

"Nothing you have to worry about fire breath."

The pinkette looked at him with slight defiance before shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly and continuing to eat. Gray honestly didn't know why he liked Natsu so much, but he did like the idiot…a lot… he actually likes him far too much. It's so bad that it's starting to venture into territory that he never wanted to wander to ever again. The raven sighed before taking a drink of his soda and eating more ice chunks. He could feel both Natsu and Lyon's eyes boring into him and it made him slightly uncomfortable.

Gray smiled at them reassuringly and tried to rejoin the conversation, but found it really pointless. Lucy, Levy and Juvia were talking shoes and boys, Ultear and Erza were probably plotting world domination, Lyon and Gajeel were glaring at each other while Loke tried to tell Natsu about all his sexual escapades; of course Natsu only cared about eating. His mind traveled to the red sweater that was still draped over his desk chair at home; he still hadn't returned it yet and Natsu hasn't asked for it so he wasn't going to give it back…

Great… now he sounded like a stalker…

He always knew that he felt something for the green eyed teen, but he would never do anything about it. Last time he acted on his feelings it resulted in him staying in a hospital for three months, seeing a therapist once a month, changing cities and killing his father. Yeah, he definitely wasn't going down that road again; especially when the wounds still burn. It's not like he thought Natsu would hurt him… he was just… afraid…

"Gray?"

The raven's head snapped up and he realized that everyone was staring at him with hints of concern. He absently rubbed at his underarms before laughing awkwardly,

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"Just wondering if you were okay…" Lucy smiled softly, "You were just staring at the grass like it killed your best friend."

"Nah, I'm okay," He laughed as he ran his hand through his hair, "Got lost in thought, that's all."

He felt Lyon's eyes narrow at him, so he subtly kicked him in the shin as he pushed himself to his feet. The silverette grunted in pain before rubbing it rhythmically while the others burst into laughter. He glared up at his brother playfully while Gray stuck his tongue out at him; he went to gather his lunch when the PA system came on,

"Can Gray Milkovich-Fullbuster, Ultear Milkovich and Lyon Milkovich please come to the office; you'll be leaving for the rest of the day."

The siblings glanced at each other in confusion before shrugging. Ultear and Lyon gathered their stuff along with Gray and they headed towards the school. They waved to their friends and told them that they would see them tomorrow before walking in silence. There was an underlying current of tension running between the three of them that caused some students to watch them as they passed, but nothing was actually said to them.

The siblings separated briefly to go to their different lockers to grab their homework. When Gray opened his locker door, he couldn't help but smile slightly. There were pictures of all his friends decorating the inside of it; something that he never had before. He didn't particularly like pictures all too much because of obvious reasons, but Natsu managed to pull him into every single one.

His favourite was the one of just him and the pinkette standing on the pier with the sunset behind them. They had their arms around each other's neck their cheeks were virtually brushing together. Natsu's smile was almost as bright as the sun and his fist was in the air; he was able to bring out the fun in him that's for sure.

Gray closed his locker door and headed towards the office where he knew his siblings were. He opened the door and froze when he saw not only his siblings, but his mother, the guidance counselor Carla-sensei, Happy-sensei, Mira-sensei, Gramps and a boy maybe a year or two older than himself with blue hair and a tattoo over his right eye. They were all looking at him with concern and fear; it immediately made his blood run cold and his breath to quicken.

"Mom," He whispered, "What's wrong?"

His mom turned to him with tears brimming in her deep blue eyes. She stretched her arm out to him and held him against her gently,

"Gray honey, there's something I have to tell you…"

That's when he knew what was going on… his worst nightmare had finally caught up with him…

"No…" He choked.

The blue haired man stepped forward and bowed to him respectfully,

"My name is Detective Jellal Fernandes; I am here to inform you that Zayn Krieg escaped the Isvan Institute for Unstable Teens two months ago on September 26th, 2013."

Gray felt his whole body shaking as the detective continued to drone on and on; he was pretty sure that he asked him a question or two, but Gray didn't hear any of it…only three words went through his mind…

_Zayn Krieg Escaped_…

FTFTFTFT

Natsu sighed sadly as he looked at the empty seat that sat beside his desk. It had been one week since, Gray, Ultear and Lyon were called down to the office and none of them have shown up to school since then. For all he knew they could've gone on a family vacation or they had a family emergency, but something was bugging him. He felt as if so much more was going on and he hated being out of the loop. He barely noticed as the last bell of the day rang and everyone started to leave the class. He gathered up his books and shoved them into his bag as he left; he barely acknowledged his friends as he walked by them.

A month back, Lucy helped him realize that he did like Gray Milkovich-Fullbuster. At first he was nervous because Gray just started to trust him and he didn't want to seem to forward and weird the poor guy out. So he just started to push the raven into hanging out with him and his friends. Natsu was pretty happy to see that Gray fit right in with his friends; he even got along with Gajeel (they learned that they have a common love for music; particularly rock and jazz). Natsu wasn't too sure about that friendship at first, but then he noticed that it got under Lyon's skin…

And honestly, what's more fun than pissing Lyon off?

Natsu was about to head home when a car pulled up to the curb and nearly ran him over. The pinkette jumped back as the front passenger window rolled down and showed Lyon with dark bags under his eyes. His skin was waxy and his gravity defying hair was more messy than normal; he resembled the walking dead.

"How much do you know?"

Natsu cocked his head to the side incredulously,

"Huh?"

The older teen rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed exasperatedly,

"How much has Gray told you about us?"

The pinkette froze as the raven's name was uttered; what the hell was going on here? Natsu folded his arms across his chest,

"He hasn't told me anything, but he showed me his underarms and he said some stuff in his sleep…"

"What did he say?!" Lyon demanded impatiently.

Natsu jumped somewhat fearfully, as of right now Lyon was surpassing Ultear and Erza on the demonic scale and that was creepy as hell. The pinkette cleared his throat before looking the silverette in the eyes,

"Zayn…and your dad's death… and enough to know it might not have been accident…"

"Get in the car!"

"But…"

"If you don't get into this damn car now, Gray won't live to see tomorrow!"

Natsu's bag fell off his shoulder and onto the sidewalk with a loud bang. Without picking it up, he yanked open the back door of the sedan and dove into the seat. The car started moving as the door closed and his motion sickness surfaced instantaneously. He could feel the urge to pass out and vomit all at once, but he couldn't lose himself. According to Lyon, Gray depended on him and he wouldn't be able to do anything if he's out of commission.

Luckily, the drive was quick and Natsu dove out of the car before it even had a chance to stop. He could hear Lyon's running footsteps behind him, but he just ran into the house and right past Ur and Ultear. He heard them questioning the silverette, but he continued on to his destination; he's only been to Gray's place a handful of times, but he knew where Gray's bedroom was. The first thing he saw when he reached the raven's door was that it was shut and when he tried the doorknob, it was revealed to be locked. The pinkette cursed under his breath and pounded on the door none too gently,

"Gray, I know you're in there! Open the damn door ice block!"

There was silence for a moment before Gray's muffled voice carried from behind the door,

"Go the hell away Natsu, this has nothing to do with you!"

Even though his voice was muffled, he could hear the pain and anxiousness in the raven's voice. He also swore that he could hear quiet sobs coming from the other side and that worried him more. He heard someone behind him and he turned to see Ultear with her arms wrapped tightly around herself. The normally confident girl was clearly crumbling into pieces; her eyes were red and her pale cheeks were swollen from all her tears. Like Lyon, she had dark circles under her eyes and she looked as if she hasn't eaten in a couple days.

"How long?" Natsu whispered.

Ultear sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes,

"Monday, after we left the school… he hasn't moved unless it's to go to the bathroom or shower. But he showers when all of us are asleep so that we don't see him… he hasn't eaten since Lunch that day."

The pinkette nodded sadly and stared at the door in front of him. He banged on the door again before speaking,

"I don't know why you're scared, but this isn't how you do it."

"I'm not scared!" Gray roared before a loud crash sounded, "Fuck you! Just because you're life is so fucking perfect doesn't mean you know everything about me!"

"If you don't open the door I'm going to kick it down," Natsu flinched as he leaned his head against the solid wood door, "And you know I will."

"Goddamnit! Aren't you listening to me?!" He sobbed, "Leave me ALONE!"

Natsu was about to turn away when a thought came to mind,

"Isn't that what **he** wants?"

"Shut the fu…w-what?" Gray choked thickly.

Natsu sighed as he tried to sense his unrequited love through the door,

"Zayn… he wants you to be alone so no one else can have you. By doing this Gray, you're doing exactly what he wants and it will end up killing you."

Silence reigned once more when the sound of a lock clicking reached his ears. Slowly, Natsu reached out and turned the doorknob. The door creaked open and he felt victory swell up within him; he turned to Ultear to tell her to come in, but she shook her head no before going downstairs to tell the others the new developments. The pinkette stepped into the room and cringed at what he saw. Broken glass was everywhere and his desk in the far corner was split in two with books and pens scattered. He searched for Gray and found him curled up in a tight ball by the base of his bed.

The raven's body was shaking uncontrollably and heart wrenching sobs could be heard loud and clear. Natsu started to approach his friend when he noticed a silver object in the raven's hand; from just one glance he knew exactly what is was. He tried to get a glimpse of Gray's arms but they were hidden from view. He opened his mouth to speak when Gray interrupted him,

"I've been sitting here for five days looking at this thing…" He sniffed, "I spent five days wondering whether or not I should end it all and escape all this."

"Gray…"

"I was barely holding on," He whimpered, "But then you came here and told me that I wouldn't be escaping if I did this… I would further be binding myself to that evil vindictive bastard.

"You know… he pushed me past the point of breaking… he's done it so many times. But you, you showed me that I could get back on my feet…I'm staying right here and he can't stop me!"

Gray tossed the knife to the side and collapsed into his lap with more tears as Natsu ran to him and pulled him into a hug. He tucked the raven head under his chin and rocked the teen back and forth comfortingly. He glanced down at Gray's arms and noticed that there were a few new cuts on his arms, but they weren't too deep. Natsu went to get up so he could get bandages, but Gray refused to release him. Natsu gathered the smaller teen into his arms and walked over to the cleanest part of the room; the bed.

Judging by Gray's high anxiety, depression and … thoughts… he was willing to bet that the younger teen hasn't sleep in five days. The raven looked sickly and weak; Natsu would take a look at the cuts after he got some rest. Gray whimpered slightly when the pinkette tried to let him go causing Natsu to pause. The raven looked up at him,

"Can you lay with me…please?"

The pinkette smiled sadly before nodding. He pulled back the covers and climbed into bed with the raven. He wrapped his tanned arms around the pale body so that Gray's back was flush against his chest. He could feel the younger teen's frantic heartbeat slowing down and the sobs slowly became deep breathing as he calmed. Natsu ran his hands through the soft, dark hair comfortingly and whispered soothing words into his ear. Gray squeezed the pinkette's free hand tightly and threaded their fingers together. A shiver traveled down the raven's spine prompting Natsu to hold onto him even tighter.

"Don't worry Gray," He pressed a light kiss to the back of his neck, "I won't let him get you."

A final tear ran down the raven's cheek and mingled with the intricate burns that laced his cheek,

"Thank you…"

TBC

**That was the hardest chapter that I have ever had to write… oh my gosh I hope I didn't butcher this at all -.-' I'm so worried about this chapter it's nuts! Things are starting to fall apart now, but will they be able to pull everything together? Only time will tell… please let me know what you think of the chapter! Waiting on your reviews :)**

**-sktrgrl **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail**

**Warnings: Yaoi, Violence, Language, Rape**

It was nightfall when Natsu had opened his eyes; he glanced around the dark room hazily in an attempt to get his bearings, but he couldn't figure out where he was. That is until something brushed against his side and snuggled into his chest. He felt his cheeks warm when he remembered that he was lying in bed with Gray, only to recall the reason why he was doing so. An underlying rage was building up in his chest; he hadn't felt anywhere close to this mad in a long time. The last time he felt remotely like this was when the cancer took his mom away… he hated whatever higher power that was up there for taking her away. That rage only grew when his dad started burying himself in his research and stopped caring about him. Eventually the anger went away, but then he met Gray and realized he wanted to do everything in his power to protect him from whatever he was hiding from.

Natsu sighed silently and started to run his fingers through the raven's dark hair once more. A few moments after he started, the smaller teen shifted under his touch and slowly sat up in the bed. He watched as Gray glanced around the destroyed room slightly disoriented; the raven put pressure on his wrists only to gasp in pain. The pinkette quickly sat up and gently grabbed a hold of the pale wrists. Deep blue eyes stared at him in confusion before pain laced those eyes tenfold; he refused to meet the pinkette's gaze and instead stared down at the blankets that were pooling around him. Natsu placed his hand under Gray's chin and forced the younger teen to look him in the eye; he wasn't surprised to see tears trailing down his cheeks once more.

"It's okay," He whispered, "I'm not going to leave you because of this."

"I'm sorry," Gray choked as he buried his face into his shoulder, "I should be stronger…"

"No, you need to let me help you, you need to let your family help you." Natsu whispered as he hugged the teen into his chest, "You can't handle this alone Gray, no one could."

The raven sighed shakily as he leaned into the warm embrace and let the tension gathering in his shoulders release. Natsu waited for the teen to gather himself before releasing his hold. He reached out and wiped the tears off Gray's face with the pads of his thumbs; he ignored how the teen flinched when his fingers ran over the scars.

"Do you have any bandages and disinfectant in here?" Natsu whispered, "We need to take care of your arms."

The raven nodded and pointed towards his split desk once again avoiding the pinkette's gaze. Natsu got off the bed and stepped around the glass and wooden splinters littering the floor; the last thing he needs is to get injured. He pulled open the first drawer of the desk and pulled out the first aid kit; it made him question how many times Gray had to use it since it was such easy access. He sat on the bed once more and motioned for the raven to give him one of his arms, which was obeyed hesitantly.

Natsu poured some rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball before gently applying it to one of the various cuts on the pale forearm. He fought back a flinch when Gray hissed in pain and simply apologized softly before continuing. It was a repetitive process until he finished that arm and started to wrap the gauze around them.

"You know, at one point he was a lot like you…" Gray whispered.

Natsu raised an eyebrow as he applied more gauze,

"What do you mean?"

The raven was silent for a moment, most likely thinking of how to phrase what he was thinking,

"He was the only one who tried to get to know me. He didn't seem to care about the rumours or the stories people were saying behind my back…"

Natsu waited patiently for his friend to keep going as he started working on the other arm. He was starting to press another cotton ball to a wound when Gray started speaking again,

"Ur isn't actually my mom…"

This statement caused the pinkette to halt in his movements and glance up at the raven. Gray looked sad, but he also seemed okay with this idea; however, Natsu was completely blown away by this development. He always thought Ur and Gray had resemblances, but now that he thought about it Ur and Ultear looked a lot alike and Gray looked nothing like Ultear; then there was also how Gray had two last names while his siblings only had one.

"I was adopted by Ur and her husband Saul Fullbuster when I was three years old," Gray smiled faintly, "So they're basically my parents; Lyon and Ultear's dad left them when they were one.

"Anyways, I was from a different part of the Northern Continent than them, so I wasn't exactly a normal child growing up. Many of the other kids just avoided me because they thought I was bad luck because my real parents didn't want me. Lyon and Ultear of course tried to stand up for me, but there is only so much you can do as a kid."

Natsu frowned as he listened to the raven talk; who knew kids could actually be that cruel? He finished wrapping the gauze on the other arm and let go of the teen. Gray smiled at him thankfully and leaned against his head board. The pinkette watched him carefully before cleaning up the leftover bandages and ointment and putting the box beside the bed. When he was done he sat next to Gray and hesitantly placed his hand over the raven's; luckily, Gray didn't make any attempt to move away.

"This treatment continued all the way through middle school and junior high, but everything changed when I entered grade nine last year…"

_He walked the halls of his new school with his head bowed and his hand clutched tightly to his backpack. He could still hear the whispers and the feel the finger pointing as he went past his other classmates. Honestly, he's been in their class since kindergarten you'd think that they'd grow the fuck up already. Okay, yes, he didn't speak their language very well and had a bit of a stutter growing up, but it's not like it was contagious or something. He ran his hand through his raven locks and approached his new locker that he was going to have for the next four years. _

_He didn't really see the point in attending a school; he didn't have any friends so it would be easier for him to be homeschooled, but of course his mom and dad wanted him to have the experience. Sigh… haven't they learned anything over the past ten years? He punched in his combination before swinging his door open with a loud squeak. He started piling his books into his locker when he felt the presence of someone standing behind him… and a very familiar presence at that…_

"_Hey there dumbfuck, how'd the summer treat ya?" _

_Gray rolled his eyes and turned to face the person who was breathing down his neck. The same wispy platinum blonde hair and badly concealed indigo tattoos; he didn't even know Erigor was smart enough to pass first grade, let alone get into high school. His usual cronies were at his side, including the bastard Kage; damnit, he just hated them all._

"_Oh, you know, better than all your remedial classes I bet." He glared, "And you call me the dumbfuck?" _

_Erigor growled before grabbing the raven by the front of his uniform,_

"_Do you want a repeat of last year, fly?" _

_Gray glanced away from the idiot after pulling himself out of his grasp. He straightened his uniform and stepped away from him,_

"_No…"_

"_Then I suggest you remember your place and not insult Eisenwald again, you damn fly."_

_Erigor pushed the raven into the corner of his locker door causing him to grunt in pain. Kage on the other hand went straight into Gray's locker and threw his books and bag into a nearby trash can. The raven remained on the floor until 'Eisenwald' left and then walked over to the garbage can to retrieve his books. He rubbed his sore back as he reached into the mustard-filled trash; if he didn't hurry, he was going to be late for class._

"_Hey, I saw what happened…" A voice said from behind him, "Are you alright?"_

"_I don't need your sympathies," Gray growled angrily before turning around, "If you're here to mock me, then get it over with and leave me alone."_

"_Sorry man, just wanted to know if you needed help…"_

"_Didn't you hear me; get the hell away from me." Gray whipped around, "If you get near me, you'll be shunned; believe me, I know!"_

_His thought process seemed to freeze as he looked at the teenager in front of him. He had never seen someone so beautiful in his life… he looked like a god in human skin. His pale face was flawless and his cheekbones and nose were strong and defined. His chestnut brown hair hung in eyes, but at the same time framed his face so that attention was brought specifically to his eyes, which were a rare crimson red. He was taller than himself by a good five inches and he looked like he played some kind of sport; hockey or football most likely. _

"_Who would want to hang out with those idiots anyway," The teen rolled his eyes, "I don't see anything wrong with you."_

_Gray just kept staring at him, his mind not completely registering what he was hearing,_

"_You must be new here…"_

"_Yeah! Just moved here at the end of the summer," He rubbed the back of his head bashfully, "My name is Zayn Krieg, what's yours?"_

"_G-Gray Milkovich-Fullbuster…"_

"When we met on that day, he seemed so normal…" Gray whispered, "He was the only one who talked to me like I was a human being; he made me feel special."

"What happened?" Natsu asked softly.

Gray ran his pale fingers over his bandaged forearms, but was forced to stop when Natsu grabbed a hold of his hands. The pinkette laced their fingers together and waited for Gray to collect himself once more. He couldn't even imagine how hard it must be for the raven to be telling him all of this. The way Gray talked about Zayn told him how much the boy's friendship meant to him at one point and it made him wonder what had happened to make it all change. The raven leaned his head on Natsu's shoulder and let out a pained sigh,

"After a month or two of being friends, we slowly became something more…" He explained, "I know it seems fast and all, but when you go to a school of over 3000 and everyone hates you, something is bound to happen…"

_They were into the second month of the new school year and they never left each other's side. Where you would find Gray, you would find Zayn and vice versa… the raven realized he wasn't too far off in his assumptions when he told Zayn that he would be shunned if he talked to him. It only took a matter of hours for the student body, minus Ultear, Meredy, Lyon, Sherry and Toby to turn on him; yes, Yuka was also Lyon's friend, but Yuka was also one of Gray's tormentors… secretly of course. So obviously, if they only had each other to talk to, they were bound to be joined at the hip; foreigners always stick together (even if Gray never considered himself one). _

_Gray was frequently over Zayn's place because his parents were never home; they were big time lawyers or something. He was over at the older teen's house that day playing video games; and he was totally kicking his ass. As a last ditch effort at winning, Zayn dove at Gray and knocked him over causing the remote to go flying out of his hands. Gray felt his cheeks heat up when he realized the position they were in. Zayn was laying over him with their noses practically touching and Zayn's knee was wedged in between Gray's legs. _

"_Zayn…"_

"_Has anyone told you how beautiful you are Gray?" He whispered._

_Gray blinked a couple times unsure if he heard right,_

"_Huh?"_

_Zayn sighed before leaning his head down so that his mouth was next to his ear,_

"_I don't understand how people can treat you so badly; you're smart, talented, and beautiful… maybe they're just jealous of you."_

"_Uh…"_

_Before Gray could continue the older teen had pressed his lips against his. He honestly didn't have the slightest idea about what he was doing, but Zayn seemed alright with it. A shiver ran down his spine when something ran along his bottom lip; he gasped allowing whatever it was to enter his mouth. It didn't take long for him to realize that it was Zayn's tongue. After a moment, the older teen pulled away so that they could both breathe again,_

"_Gray, will you be mine?"_

_Lost in a sea of blood, he couldn't stop himself from nodding his head yes._

"Everything was great for a little while; it was like nothing had changed." Gray gazed into Natsu's green eyes.

Natsu could feel pools of jealousy growing in him as he heard how happy Zayn made his unrequited love, but he quickly quelled them. He didn't need his feelings to start masking his judgement; he had to be unbiased. He gazed into Gray's deep blue pools and noticed that they were filling with tears again,

"You know we can take a break if you don't want to keep going…"

"No," Gray shook his head, "I have to do this, just promise me something."

"Anything." Natsu responded instantly causing the raven to smile slightly.

"Don't think any different of me…" Gray mumbled, "I don't think I'd be able to handle it if…"

Natsu pulled the raven into another tight hug,

"Nothing you say will ever make me leave you; don't you ever forget that."

Gray nodded sadly before taking another deep breath to gather his bearings,

"A month or so after we became a couple, another person transferred into our high school; her name was Daphne. Like Zayn, Daphne didn't agree with the things that the school was doing and also became my friend. However, the more time that I spent with Daphne… the angrier and more possessive Zayn seemed to get…"

"_Hey Zayn, what time is it?" Gray asked him as they watched 'One Piece: Strong World'. _

_His boyfriend glanced down at his watch and sighed,_

"_Uh, like 3:30, why?"_

"_I have to leave soon; I have to go do a class project with Daphne for Monday."_

_He felt the older teen's arm tense from under him before it pulled away from his shoulders. Zayn turned to face him with his knuckles clenched tightly. Gray raised an eyebrow at him in confusion and opened his mouth to ask him if he was alright when Zayn grabbed onto his wrists tightly. Gray flinched and tried to pry his wrists away, but the brunette's grip was almost as strong as steel. _

"_Zayn, you're hurting me…" Gray growled, "What the hell is wrong with you?!"_

"_You're thinking of leaving me, aren't you?" Zayn muttered, "After everything I've done for you, you're going to leave me."_

_Gray struggled to get the stronger teen to let go,_

"_What are you talking about?! It's just a class project…"_

"_Lately, it's been Daphne this and Daphne that, she'll never love you as much as I do!" The brunette raged, "I can prove it to you!"_

_Before a thought even passed his mind, Gray found himself on his back on the couch. His heart was pounding in his ears and he could feel his breaths turning into pained gasps. Zayn's hand held both of Gray's wrists over his head and he straddled his waist so that he had nowhere to go. He bucked his hips in an attempt to get Zayn off him, but his movements only caused the teen moan. The moan caused Gray to freeze and his eyes to widen fearfully as a satisfied smirk started to spread across Zayn's pale face._

"_I knew you wanted this, my Gray-chan…"_

"_Gray-chan?" He choked, "Zayn, stop fooling around and get off me."_

_The brunette threw his head back and laughed,_

"_You think I'm fooling around? I have to show you how much you mean to me."_

_Gray's struggles were renewed when he saw the half crazy look in his boyfriend's crimson eyes. Zayn, being stronger, was able to hold him down without too much effort and began nibbling on his neck. Without his permission, moans began to escape his throat and his virgin body was beginning to react. With one hand still holding onto his small wrists, the brunette pulled Gray's shirt over his head and began sucking on the boy's nipples. Once again, his body defied his thoughts and hips started to buck into the friction from above. _

"_So submissive," Zayn ran his tongue along Gray's neck, "It's hard for me to keep holding back…"_

"_Please," The raven pleaded, "Please stop."_

_The brunette palmed the bulge in Gray's pants causing the smaller teen to gasp,_

"_But your body says otherwise; why deny your body of what it needs…"_

_While saying this, Zayn pulled the string from out of the hood of his sweater and used it to tie Gray's hands above his head. The raven cried out as the string dug into his wrists as he tried to struggle, but Zayn silenced him by putting his mouth on his. In moments, Zayn was pulling down Gray's jeans; boxers and all. The raven hissed as the cold air touched his member and that's when he realized that if he didn't do anything now, it was all over._

_Zayn leaned forward to suck on Gray's ear, but at that second the raven sat up so that their foreheads knocked together. The older boy gasped in pain and held his head tightly as pain laced through it. Gray used this chance to turn his body so that Zayn fell to the floor, therefore freeing him. The raven tried to running to the nearby bathroom to lock the door when weight slammed into him from behind, sending him sprawling to the floor._

"_You shouldn't have done that Gray-chan…"He hissed, "Now I have no choice but to punish you."_

_Before Gray could even question him, he felt immense pressure being pushed against his backside. It only took him a second to start screaming as he was being torn apart; he could feel wetness falling in between his thighs and falling down his cheeks, but he didn't even know where he was anymore. All he could feel was pain… at this point he just wanted to die… The movements started to get faster and faster and the agony became more and more unbearable. Suddenly a burning hot liquid filled him to the brim, signalling Zayn's completion. Gray let out a sigh of relief when he suddenly felt Zayn's member expanding inside of him once more,_

"_Don't worry Gray-chan, there is still more to come…"_

Gray sobbing by the time he revealed his darkest secret and Natsu felt the anger welling up in him once more. He held onto the shaking body tightly as the boy released the pain that no doubt been holed up inside him until now. Natsu was probably the only person who knew that this happened to the teen and he didn't know what to do. Obviously he should tell someone, but it wasn't his decision… it had to be Gray…

"Does anyone else know?"

Gray shook his head and tried to calm down his breathing. He had a major headache now, but he couldn't stop, he had to make sure that Natsu knew how the story ended… and how it's going to start a new chapter…

"After that day, the abuse started…" Gray began once more, "He would hit me and rape me… but I would let him. That's when I discovered cutting… and it did help me, until my family found out. It was horrible; Lyon found me first and he almost shit his pants. Before I could get a word out he was already calling for our parents.

"My mom and dad wanted me to get help, but I wouldn't even tell them my reasoning. Since I wasn't talking, they refused to let me go anywhere except for school and home… you could imagine how well Zayn took that. It was late January when he showed up in my house…"

_Gray was lying on his living room couch with his favourite book in his hand, but for once he wasn't reading it. He was captivated by the snow falling outside; he didn't know what it was, but he's loved snow for as long as he could remember. He just loved how free and unique each snowflake was; it gave him hope that one day people would understand his uniqueness… his gaze landed on his healing forearms, that is if they could get past how hideous he was on the outside._

_A loud crash drew his attention from the window to the kitchen; he wondered who was here, as far as he knew he was home alone. He pushed himself to his feet and walked over to the adjacent kitchen. He froze when he saw Zayn sitting on top of his kitchen counter swinging his legs back and forth with a maniacal smile spread across his face. Gray's book fell out of his hand and onto the tiled floor with a loud slap._

"_Gray-chan, have you been avoiding me?"_

"_N-No…" Gray refused to make eye contact, "I'm grounded so…"_

"_But even at school… you're always with your siblings and their friends."_

_The raven bit his lip nervously and rubbed his underarms,_

"_They ask me to eat with them… it's not like I'm going to say no."_

_Out of the corner of his eye he saw Zayn tilt his head exaggeratedly; he clearly didn't believe a word he was saying. Zayn pushed himself off the counter and grabbed a hold of Gray's forearms and tutt-ed disapprovingly._

"_Now Gray-chan, you know they would never understand you as much as I do." Zayn cupped the side of his cheek, "I could get rid of them for you…"_

_The raven whipped his head up so that they were looking eye to eye,_

"_What?!"_

"_If you refuse to be with me, then I have to get rid of all the obstacles." He shrugged, "I'll kill Ultear first so I can see that arrogant Lyon's expression as his twin falls. Then I will kill him to prove to him that he isn't as strong as he thinks he is. Then I'll kill your mother for thinking that she could separate us, then I would kill your father simply because he's the last one left."_

"_NO!" The raven fell to his knees as he thought about the death of his family, "YOU'RE CRAZY!"_

"_It would be your fault Gray-chan; you have the power to stop it…"Zayn smiled darkly, "All you have to do is give yourself solely to me."_

"_You've already taken everything!" He spat as he glared up at the monster before him, "I have nothing left to give!"_

"_You haven't given me your life…"_

_Gray gazed up at him so that blood met ice,_

"_I'll do as you ask… don't hurt them; p-please leave them alone."_

"_Even death so that no one can touch you ever again?"_

_The raven glanced down at his forearms; he was willing to die a couple weeks ago, hell, he still wanted to die even know…_

"_Yes, I'll even die so that no one else can have me…I'll only belong to you and you alone…"_

_Zayn smirked and lit a match,_

"_Good thing I already set the stage."_

_Gray watched as the match tumbled to the floor in slow motion. As soon as the match touched the ground, the floor erupted into flame and quickly started to spread through the house. How he didn't smell the accelerator was beyond him because he could smell it now. Maybe it was because Zayn scared him so much that he simply shut right down…_

_He didn't want to leave his family… but as long as they lived they would move on…_

_He could feel the flames licking against him now, but he held in his screams. Zayn hadn't moved from his spot either and just watched mesmerized as the flames ate him up. Suddenly the smoke detectors went off, but he knew he would be long gone before the fire department arrived._

"_GRAY?! CAN YOU HEAR ME; WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE! WHERE ARE YOU SON?!"_

"_Dad…"Gray's breath caught in his chest, "NO! DAD, YOU HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!_

"_I thought I saw his car out there…" Zayn smirked._

"_You promised that they'd be safe if I stayed, YOU PROMISED DAMNIT!" _

_The brunette's face darkened,_

"_And YOU promised to give me your life Gray-chan; but it seems you're not dying quick enough…"_

_Zayn jumped on top of his oxygen deprived body and clasped his fingers around his throat. Gray thrashed around as his air passages were effectively cut off. He could hear people screaming his name in the distance, but he couldn't put names to the voices. They sounded so familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had heard them before. Suddenly an intense heat engulfed the side of his face causing a scream to be torn from his throat. He thrashed around as the pain grew and grew and grew. Darkness started to gather at the edge of his vision as his last breaths left him; the last thing he saw was Zayn's satisfied face…_

"_Now no one will have you…"_

"I woke up in the hospital two months later, but had to stay an extra month to go through rehab." Gray explained, "I also learned about my dad around that time; he died saving my life. He pulled Zayn off me and started to run out of the house when Zayn plunged a knife in his back.

"The police hauled Zayn off to jail and I was put in an ambulance alongside my dad. My mom was in the ambulance with us… she said my heart stopped from the oxygen deprivation and the shock of my burns. But then my dad's heart also stopped… as soon as that happened, mine started beating again.

"I'm alive because of my dad… but I feel so guilty…"

"Don't… or his sacrifice would be in vain."

"Natsu…"

The pinkette ran his fingers through Gray's hair comfortingly and placed a chaste kiss on his forehead,

"Your dad wanted you to live; he didn't want your life to only consist of suffering. Yes, you and your siblings lost a father and your mother lost a husband, but imagine what would've happened if they lost you too."

Gray threw himself at the pinkette just as he had a few hours before. Natsu held onto him tightly as the boy mourned for the father he had lost. As he held onto Gray he knew that no matter what happened he was never going to let go…

TBC

**Super long chapter and all is revealed! Poor Gray, I never realized I was so evil! At least Natsu will always be by his side :P I was planning on more NatsuxGray fluff this chapter, but it wouldn't fit because well Gray just divulged his darkest secrets… so… there is only a minimum of fluff! Anyways I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'm waiting on your reviews!**

**-sktrgrl**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sama owns Fairy Tail!**

**Warnings: Yaoi, Language and Violence**

It didn't take long for the emotionally exhausted teen to fall into a deep slumber. Natsu was mesmerized by the raven's rhythmic breathing as he lay against his chest comfortably. The pinkette ran his fingers through the dark hair, as he has become addicted to doing, as he thought about what Gray had revealed to him. He could honestly say that he had never met anyone as strong as this teen in his entire existence. It may seem like he was too young to declare something like that; but not many have survived what he has and come out mostly intact. Sure there were some rough patches here and there, but Gray was recovering… slowly, but surely.

Gray hadn't come out and said it, but no matter what everyone thought, Natsu Dragneel was not stupid. He did do stupid things, but he was not, he repeats NOT, completely incompetent. Just from the raven telling his story and the way he's been acting this past week, it was safe to assume that something happened concerning Zayn Krieg. He didn't want to think the worst, but he was about 99.9% sure that that was the case here…

Zayn Krieg escaped from wherever he was and he was most likely coming after Gray…

LIKE HELL HE WAS GOING TO LET THAT HAPPEN!

If that asshole so much as sets FOOT in Magnolia Natsu was going to kick his ass to Pluto so he could shrivel up and turn into an icicle. Oh, and he's not done there; he'll then invent transportation, quickly transport to Pluto grab the fucker and toss him into Jupiter's massive red hurricane. Okay… so maybe he was getting a _little _carried away; but that is something the pinkette wanted to happen.

He wanted that shit faced asshole to die a slow and painful death.

Natsu jumped when he heard the smaller teen whimper in his sleep. The distraught sound immediately pulled him out of his rage and began to whisper soothing words to the raven. After a few moments, Gray stilled once more and continued dreaming; hopefully these dreams were better than the ones he was just experiencing. The pinkette glanced over at the smashed alarm clock and noticed that it was miraculously still working.

7:45pm.

The pinkette sighed sadly as his stomach released a rumble; of course he would get hungry when he noticed how late it was. Maybe Lucy was right; he did think with his stomach… A practically silent knock on the door pulled him out of his thoughts. Gray's mom was standing in the doorway looking at the destroyed room sadly. Her eyes landed on the bed and she smiled at them softly when she saw her youngest son curled up into the side of him. She manoeuvered around the destroyed room gracefully and knelt down beside Natsu on the cleanest spot on the floor.

Natsu stared at the woman for a bit before he felt something being placed on his lap. He looked down and saw that it was a BLT sandwich with some chips on the side. He glanced back up at her with surprise only to watch as tears slowly welled up in her eyes.

"Mrs. M…"

"Call me Ur, Natsu," She laughed silently, "Or I'll be forced to call you Mr. Dragneel."

The pinkette stared at Ur wide eyed; usually parents liked that formality, but not Gray's mom. It was strange, but he could kind of picture Gray's mom being the different one. She actually reminded him a lot of his own mother when she was alive.

"Thank you Natsu." She whispered.

He stared into her deep blue eyes as tears succeeded in breaking down her barriers. He felt awkward watching her so he turned his head to look at the sleeping Gray instead. He ran the back of his hand across his marred cheekbone soothingly causing the raven to lean into his touch. It made him wonder what Gray would've done if he were awake.

"You love him don't you?"

Natsu's head turned so fast that he almost got whiplash,

"W-What?"

Ur smiled knowingly and placed her pale hand over Natsu's comfortingly,

"You don't have to hide it; I could tell from the very first time you set foot in this house."

"I-I…" He ducked his head as he felt the burn spreading across his cheeks, "Yeah, I do."

The raven woman smiled brightly and touched Gray's head which still remained on his chest. He almost felt as if he was intruding on a moment, but he knew if he were to say anything he would get a bop in the head. Over the past two months Natsu has learned one thing, Ur was a combination of Ultear and Gray; Ultear in a sense that she doesn't take bullshit and Gray as in his empathy.

His thought process would probably be considered bullshit.

"You saved him," Ur whispered, "You saved him when no one else could…"

"Ur, you probably would've gotten through to him…"

"No," She denied, "None of us would've; it had to be you."

Natsu looked at her in confusion; how would he be the only one who could've helped him, it didn't make sense. Ur, most likely sensing this, sighed quietly before looking into Natsu's bright green eyes.

"He blames himself for everything that happened last year." She explained, "He blames himself for the move and for the rumours going around the town; but most importantly he blames himself for the death of his father.

"He thinks that he ruined our lives and that it was because of him Saul died. He thinks he's the reason Ultear and Lyon don't have a father and that I no longer have my teaching job; he thinks that we secretly hate him for everything 'he' put us through…"

"But that's not true!" Natsu hissed.

Ur nodded solemnly,

"It's not true, but that idiotic son of mine doesn't want to believe it. Before we moved to Magnolia, Gray completely sealed himself off from us. He would wake up at ungodly hours to shower and get ready for school; he avoided mirrors because of his face and the guilt of seeing himself alive every day. He rarely at breakfast with us and pretty much locked himself in his room when he wasn't in therapy. He was destroying himself from the inside out.

"Then he met you Natsu. Even after the very first day of classes, I knew that my son was starting to change. As the weeks passed he opened up to us more and more; he was smiling and laughing again. Ul and Lyon even told me that you managed to get him get into some group photos; you made my son LIVE again, and there is nothing I could ever do to possibly repay you."

For the first time in his life, Natsu was speechless. He had never realized just how much he has done for the raven lying by his side. To be honest, he didn't realize that everything was so tense in the Milkovich household; they all seemed pretty close. At the same time, it explained a lot of Lyon and Ultear's reactions at the beginning of the school year. They wanted to protect a person that they couldn't protect before…

Even if they were protecting him from their-selves.

"Anyways, thank you for everything you've done Natsu."

"There's no need to thank me Ur," He smiled softly, "After all, I love him and nothing is going to change that."

"N-Natsu?"

The pinkette's heart ceased beating at that very moment the sleepy voice entered his ears. Against his will, his head turned and he found himself looking into wide, disbelieving deep blue eyes. He was faintly aware of Ur backing out of the room and shutting the door behind her, but all his attention was on the teen sitting beside him…

He should've eaten the sandwich when he had the chance…

Then again if he had, it probably would've come right back up…

FTFTFTFT

One thought was constantly going through his head and it was that NATSU DRAGNEEL LOVED HIM. Natsu, the tabasco sauce obsessed, pink haired, hyper, temperamental, Dragneel was IN LOVE with the most closed off, antisocial human being in the history of the world. How does something like this happen, hell if he knows! The universe was on the verge of being destroyed by aliens, yup, that was his answer and he was sticking to it.

The pinkette was staring at him like he was a deer caught in the headlights. His green eyes were wide and his mouth was dropped open; he was practically screaming 'SEMI IS COMING RIGHT AT ME'. His mouth was trying to form words, but nothing intelligible was coming out and Gray wasn't doing too much better himself. He definitely felt like he was being hit by a freight train or something.

"G-Gray, I…"

Was he going to deny it?

Hell, of course he's going to deny it; especially after all the fucked up stuff he just learned. Maybe he used to love him, but that's all gone now that he knows the truth. No one would want him anyway! He's damaged, no good and a murderer; who would want to be with someone who killed their own father. It was almost too good to be true in the first place; he should've seen this coming in the first place.

"GRAY STOP IT!"

Suddenly, two extremely warm hands were clasped around his own. He was breathing heavily as if he was trying to force air into oxygen deprived lungs. He glanced at his forearms and noticed some red spots starting to form under the bandages that Natsu had applied earlier. He felt the familiar presence of tears falling down his cheeks and that's what finally broke him.

"WHY?!" He roared, "WHY DAMNIT?!"

"Gray…"

"WHY DO YOU CARE SO MUCH?! NO ONE HAS BEFORE SO WHY YOU?! WHY CAN YOU WALK IN WITH DAMN INFECTIOUS SMILE AND ROPE ME IN SO EASILY?!"

"Gray…"

"YOU RUINED EVERYTHING! EVERY WALL I PUT UP, EVERYTHING I PLACED IN FRONT OF MY HEART MELTED SO EASILY BECAUSE OF YOU AND THAT DAMN AWFUL SMILE! YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO DO THAT! YOU WEREN'T SUPPO…"

His shouts were completely silenced by a mouth pressing gently, yet firmly against his own. It was only a chaste kiss, but it was enough for all his doubts to leave him. He hesitantly lifted his forearms and wrapped them around the pinkette's tanned neck as warm fingers brushed against his jawline. After an eternity, Natsu pulled away; his green eyes brimming with tears.

"Gray, you don't need to be scared anymore," He whispered, "I'm not going to hurt you…"

"Who says I'm scared of you, I'm…"

"All this time you've been running and hiding from me and now I know why…"

"SHUT THE HELL…"

"YOU WERE SCARED BECAUSE YOU WANTED TO BE WITH ME TOO!"

Gray's mouth snapped shut as his fears were pulled out into the open by the one person he wanted to hide them from. Tears renewed and he started to slam his fists into Natsu's chest in frustration; he was too weak from lack of food to actually do anything harmful, but it helped damnit.

"You had me since that first day… you gave me that feeling. The feeling that I've been trying my hardest to forget and I was finally succeeding; but then YOU came around and ruined everything!"

Gray released a sob as Natsu pulled him into his chest and held him tightly. His own arms wrapped around the pinkette's back and clutched onto the fabric of his school uniform for dear life. He could hear Natsu whispering soothing words to him, but his mind was too muddled for it to actually make sense. He felt Natsu's hand lift his chin up so that deep blue eyes were meeting green once more.

"Do you trust me?" He whispered.

"N-Natsu, I…"

"Do. You. Trust. Me?"

Even though he wanted to deny it, he knew that he couldn't. From that very first moment when they met by the river, he knew that he was gone. There was nothing he could do to stop it; it was inevitable for them to get to this point. _Natsu_, Japanese for Summer…

He was right…

If something was hot enough, the ice around his heart was sure to melt…

And he knew deep down… that Natsu Dragneel was the one who was going to set him free…

"Yeah…" He mumbled, "I do…"

"Then I want to promise you something, okay?"

Gray watched in confusion as Natsu clasped both his hands in his. The pinkette's natural warmth seeped into his body completely soothing him as it always has. He glanced into the green eyes once more and saw a strength and determination that no man would be able to rival; light that not even Zayn would be able to penetrate

"Gray, I promise that I'll never hurt or let anyone else hurt you again. I know that you're strong, believe me I know, but if **he** does make it to Magnolia I won't let him lay a finger on you…"

"But…"

"I love you Gray and no matter what I am never going to let you go. Not to him and not to anybody; you deserve to be happy. Even if you don't believe it yourself, you do deserve it; and I'm going to make sure you'll get it… even if we're just friends, I'll stay by your side."

He pulled his hands out of Natsu's and placed them on either side of his face. He ran his thumbs over the pinkette's rough skin and let a smile he hadn't shown for days blossom across his face. He leaned forward and rested his forehead against the burning, tanned skin before him.

"I…I love you too, Natsu Dragneel," He whispered against Natsu's lips, "And this time, I'm not letting go…"

FTFTFTFT

He never realized how far south he actually had to go. It took some _persuasion, _but he was finally able to get the answers he needed. It's good to know that good ol' Lyon's friends still like to keep in touch with him. Yuka was such an easy target for him; so willing to give up his best friend's whereabouts when his own life was on the line. Too bad that really didn't save his life though; maybe he shouldn't have been such an asshole to him and Gray-chan during school.

Well at least he was able to get some useful information off the useless sheep. Who would've thought that sweet innocent Gray-chan would actually make some friends at his new school. He thought that he would've learned his lesson the first time around, but apparently he was wrong. He pulled the crumpled photograph out of his back pocket and smiled at it darkly; who knew that there would be so many people for the picking. It was helpful that Lyon even named everyone on the back of the picture as well…

_Erza Scarlet_

_Loke Regulus_

_Lucy Heartfilia_

_Levy McGarden_

_Gajeel Redfox_

_Juvia Lockster_

_Lyon Milkovich_

_Ultear Milkovich_

And his personal favourite Gray-chan of course… but there was something unsightly about this photograph. Something that just didn't belong and it was the tanned arm wrapped around his precious Gray-chan's neck…

"Natsu Dragneel…" He growled, "You have nine friends… which one would you be willing to save?"

He cackled darkly as he crossed the state-line into Fiore…

"Let the games begin!"

TBC

**I DID IT! MOMMA I DID IT!**

**Just kidding… that was kind of creepy… I apologize…**

**Creepiness aside… I have finally updated Escape! Even though I said I had writers block in my last story lol let's just say I really pushed myself for this one because it's my biggest hit so far for my stories :) So who loved NatsuxGray fluff I know I did… maybe a little cliché, but screw it I'm happy! I'll write a sequel to my Save me, Help me, Free me trilogy if anyone can name the movie/book that this chapter was based off of! Waiting for your reviews! :)**

**-sktrgrl**

**PS. I wanna know if Zayn is a creepy bastard lol I just don't know if he's insane enough and I could really use your comments!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sama still owns Fairy Tail**

**Warnings: Yaoi, Language and Violence**

"GRAY! GO TO THE DANCE WITH ME!"

The raven nearly choked on his ice chunks and his just as flabbergasted older brother was smacking his back in order to dislodge the intrusion. Gray felt the blush rush to his cheeks as Natsu Dragneel stood in front of him with biggest smile on his face. The raven teen blinked a couple times as he stared at his… well he didn't exactly know what to call him…their relationship was kind of complicated at the moment. Although they both confessed to each other, they hadn't had much time to sort it out over the taxing weekend. For the first time ever, Natsu's dad actually came home and almost had a heart attack when his only son clearly wasn't and then there was the matter of his bedroom being in complete shambles.

To some it all up, he hadn't seen his best friend/boyfriend? all weekend, so he was a little surprised when said teen was in his face demanding that he attend the 'Winter' Ball that was on the weekend coming up. He also couldn't forget the fact that no one in their group knew about what happened last Friday and that includes Lyon and Ultear. The raven snuck a glance at his older brother and immediately noticed his 'what the fuck are you talking about' face. He glanced over at Ultear on the other side of the circle and she had this knowing smile on her face… quite honestly it freaked him out… a lot.

"Uh…"

He could feel everyone's eyes on him and it made him shift in his seat uncomfortably. Especially since every single one of them had this creepy smirk on their face. Well, Juvia looked like her heart had been completely shattered and Lyon still looked confused so it wasn't _everyone_, but it was pretty damn close. Gray hastily pushed himself to his feet and grabbed Natsu's forearm before quickly dragging him away from the prying eyes. He was sure, but as they rounded the corner he thought he heard Lyon scream something… it was probably just his imagination. He didn't let go the pinkette's arm until they were on the roof of the high school.

"What the hell was that?!" Gray demanded as his blush darkened.

Damn that pinkette for having the ability to make him blush!

"It was just a simple question Gray," Natsu laughed, "It's either yes or no."

The raven crossed his arms and looked at his feet; he'd do anything to hide from that piercing gaze. Those green eyes that seemed to know too much and feel too much; every time Gray gazed into them, he felt like he was drowning.

"But did you have to ask in front of everyone?" He muttered, "Lyon and Ultear don't know about anything yet…"

"Oi…" Natsu brushed his warm fingers against his jaw, "It's okay…"

Gray couldn't help but look up as he felt the pads of his fingers on his face. Natsu had an apologetic expression on his face and the raven knew right away that it was an expression that he didn't like. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around Natsu's neck and leaned into him; the pinkette's warm breath was brushing against his cheek creating a soothing effect on him. He suppressed the urge to flinch when he felt the toned arms wrap around his waist.

"Get rid of that look," He mumbled, "It doesn't suit you."

Natsu chuckled causing vibrations to echo into Gray's chest,

"Whatever you say yuki hi…"

"Do you want a bruise on your face when we go to the dance?" He threatened as he pulled his head back.

Natsu blinked in confusion, before the brightest smile Gray had ever seen exploded onto the pinkette's tanned face. The smile was so brilliant that it caused the raven to smile himself; he couldn't remember a time where he smiled like that. He crinkled his nose slightly when Natsu rubbed their noses together causing the pinkette to erupt into laughter once more.

"You know you're cute right?" The pinkette teased.

"S-Shut up!" Gray growled as another blush sprang to life, "I am not cute asshole."

"No not at all…" He smirked.

The raven opened his mouth to retort when his mouth was covered by fire once more; he could definitely get used to this feeling. He forcibly pushed his fears into the back of his mind when Natsu's tongue brushed across his bottom lip. Natsu was **not **Zayn… Natsu would never hurt him… Natsu was safe. Hesitantly, the younger teen opened his mouth and allowed the older into his cavern. He moaned deeply and twisted his fingers in the pink hair. The heat spreading between their two bodies was palpable; it was almost electrifying.

Natsu was about to pull away, but before he could get very far, Gray sucked on the tip of his tongue forcing a moan out of the other. The raven gathered his courage and plunged his tongue into the pinkette's mouth; no one said he couldn't have a little fun. He silently chuckled as Natsu's beautiful green eyes widened in surprise. The surprise didn't last long until it became a battle for dominance; which of course Natsu won.

They both pulled away simultaneously, saliva connecting their mouths together. Gray's mouth felt swollen and bruised, but he couldn't help but feel satisfied when he saw Natsu's goofy grin on his face. They were breathing as if they had just run a marathon, but if they really wanted they knew they could keep going. Natsu leaned in to kiss him again when the roof door slammed open causing the two teens to glance back.

Gray's heart stopped beating and fear gathered in his chest as he stared at the person standing before them…

_Shit._

FTFTFTFT

Lyon watched as his younger brother dragged the moron away from the group. Had he heard correctly? Had the pink haired dumbass _seriously_ asked his brother to the dance; he seriously never saw that coming. More importantly why hadn't Gray said 'no' right away? The silver haired teen tuned into the group around him and their conversation made his jaw drop.

"Do you think he'll say yes?" Lucy pressed her palms together excitedly, "Natsu's been working up the courage all day!"

"I know," Loke nodded with a smirk, "I was beginning to wonder if he was actually going to ask or not."

"WHAT?!" He screamed, "What do you mean he's been planning this all day?!"

The group glanced over at him with face palm expressions; well except for beautiful Juvia who looked absolutely devastated. Lyon looked at each and every one of them… the clearly knew something that he didn't and it was pissing him off.

"Lyon, you can't seriously be this dense." Erza sighed as she shook her head.

"You'd be surprised," Ultear smirked, "He's quite stupid."

The silverette clenched his fists at his sides and he felt a blush traveling up his neck. Fuck, he really hated his stuck up sister; why the hell couldn't she be normal and be obsessed with painting her nails like Levy and Lucy. But, no, that's impossible because she's as vile as a freaking dictator!

"Here I'll spell it out for you," Ultear said slowly, "Natsu. LOVES. Gray and our dear younger brother LOVES Natsu… clear enough for you?"

Lyon stared at them for a moment; he was so out of it that he didn't notice his sister holding up her fingers and slowly counting down to zero. As soon as all the fingers disappeared, Lyon exploded right on cue.

"LIKE HELL I'M GOING TO LET THAT HAPPEN!"

"It's too late to stop it dumbass," Ultear rolled her eyes, "It happened, so live with it."

"WHEN?!"

"Seriously Lyon," She crossed her arms, "It's been obvious since the very first day here."

The silverette thought back to the very first day of school and he realized that she was right. Gray started acting weirdly after meeting Natsu at school and he even went to his house instead of going home. Not to mention that Gray started smiling again after meeting the idiot and…

BUT HE COULDN'T LET THIS HAPPEN!

He had already almost lost his younger brother once and it wasn't going to happen again. It was practically Zayn all over again; he seemed like a good kid, but then he flipped and completely destroyed the Gray that they knew and loved. Who says that Natsu wouldn't do the same? Maybe Natsu is just using him and only wants to break his heart; Gray wouldn't be able to survive something like that.

He had to protect his little brother.

He turned on his heel and started to walk towards the school building. However, he was stopped by a firm hand latching onto his wrist. He growled lowly and faced his sister turned traitor; he wretched his hand out of her grasp and glared at her darkly.

"You better not be doing what I think you are," She threatened darkly, "Don't make him resent you Lyon…"

"I thought you wanted to protect him." He spat, "You're setting him up to get hurt Ultear and I won't let you do that to him."

Ultear's brown eyes narrowed dangerously,

"Don't you DARE say that I'm trying to hurt him! The only one who is going to hurt him is you and this time, I'm not going to be there to save your ass!"

He rolled his eyes and restarted his journey to the school. As he walked down the halls, people moved out of his way and pressed themselves against the lockers fearfully. They had only ever met arrogant Lyon; the boy who had a short fuse but could be bullied into submission by his twin sister. They had never met the 'Cold Emperor' until now; a teen with eyes cold as ice and a soul even darker.

He walked up to one of the freshman and pushed him against the locker,

"You, I've seen you around Natsu Dragneel…what's your name?!"

"R-Romeo…" The raven stuttered.

"Did you see him and another raven haired boy come through here?!" He demanded tersely, "Well?!"

"T-They went to the roof!" The boy choked, "P-Please don't hurt me!"

Lyon tossed the boy aside as if he were a doll and ran up the stairs that led to the roof. His heart was pounding in his ears and pure fury was pumping through his body. When he reached the door he slammed it open to find Natsu and his baby brother standing close together…

A little too close…

The silverette ignored Gray completely and grabbed Natsu by the back of his shirt; in the blink of an eye, Lyon threw the pinkette against the closest wall with his hand clenching the front of his shirt. He sneered as Natsu's large green eyes widened in confusion before morphing into something akin to determination.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Gray demanded furiously from somewhere behind him.

"Stay out of this Gray, it doesn't involve you." He growled.

"Bullshit!" The raven spat, "Let go of him now!"

"Not until he gives me an answer."

Lyon returned his attention to the younger boy against the wall and glared at him angrily. The pinkette raised an eyebrow before forcibly pushing Lyon of him. The silverette stumbled slightly, but managed to keep his stance in front of the pinkette. He didn't like the way Natsu's eyes seemed to be dissecting him; trying to find the source of his anger. Suddenly, the pinkette's gaze softened and his tense stance eased.

"I'm not going to hurt him," He told him sincerely, "You can trust me on that."

"Now who's talking bullshit!" Lyon spat, "I don't want you anywhere _near _him! Is that clear Dragneel?!"

"I'm not going to hurt him…" Natsu repeated calmly, "I didn't when we were friends and I won't now and I won't ever."

Natsu didn't have a chance to say anymore because the back of his head cracked against the wall behind him. Lyon's fist was raised and his snowy bangs covered his onyx eyes menacingly. The pinkette hissed in pain and rubbed the back of his head rhythmically. Lyon raised his leg to kick Natsu in the side, but was stopped when his younger brother jumped in front of the pinkette protectively; his arms out wide. Lyon froze when he saw the tears gathering in his brother's deep blue eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but his younger brother beat him to it.

"Get the fuck out of here!" Gray hissed, "Leave before I do something I'll regret."

"Gray…"

"Don't even try it Lyon," He glared darkly, "I don't need your help; I'm perfectly fine with Natsu by my side. Just because you have a brother complex doesn't mean you have to take it out on anyone I become close with…"

"Hold on one min…"

"You're acting no better than **him**!"

The words that were on the tip of Lyon's tongue died in his throat immediately. His younger brother would no longer look him in the eyes and had completely turned his back on him. Lyon reached out to him, but Gray instinctively moved away.

"Don't touch me," Gray mumbled, "Just…just leave."

Lyon flinched at the cold tone… he hadn't heard it in the past two months; now he was back to square one. The silverette clenched his fists at his sides and left the two boys without looking back. As soon as the door closed behind him, he could feel the tears coming to his eyes, but he pushed them back; he couldn't cry now. He was about to leave the stairwell when his cellphone went off in his pocket. He flipped it open and realized that it was a message from Toby; he unlocked the message and felt whatever semblance he had of his world collapse around him…

_Lyon,_

_Yuka was found dead in his apartment this morning…him along with his entire family. I thought I should let you now that the funeral is in a couple weeks and we're all going of course. We hope to see you there, but we understand if you can't make it._

_Toby._

FTFTFTFT

Erza Scarlet sat in her desk at the front of the class with a terrifying scowl present on her beautiful face. The aura flowing off her clearly screamed 'back away unless you want to get decapitated'. She glanced at the two empty seats in her classroom and her frown deepened. Ultear had disappeared shortly after Lyon had accused her of wanting to hurt Gray and he hasn't returned since he went searching for his younger brother and Natsu.

She hoped that the silverette didn't do anything too stupid and break whatever trust Gray had in him. She also hopped the Milkovich's would return to class soon or else she would be forced to go and find them… she really didn't want to do it, but duty was duty. And even if they're her friends she won't show them any mercy. She slammed her fist on her desk causing it crack down the middle; there was a loud screech as everyone moved their desks as far away from the scarlet demon as possible.

She glanced up at the clock and took that Prof. Strauss was late, for the first time ever. Sigh…will she have to reprimand her slightly airheaded teacher; her younger brother Elfman is worse enough. How can you run out of strawberry ice cream damnit; especially since she came at the same time every day. How Ever puts up with that muscle head is beyond her; then again, he does give her a free cone… so he can't be that bad.

The red head was pulled out of her thoughts when the classroom door opened. At first she thought, more like hoped, it was Ultear or Lyon, but she was wrong. Prof. Strauss entered the room with an ever present smile on her face. She could basically feel the male populace swooning in the background; will they ever grow up?!

"Alright guys!" She clasped her hands together cheerfully, "We have another new student joining our class! Treat him with respect everyone!"

Erza's mouth fell open as the teen strolled into the room with his hands deep in his pockets. His eyes immediately locked with hers causing a smirk to spread across his pale face. Her heart started pounding in her chest and her cheeks were starting to burn furiously. She couldn't believe what she was seeing… she refused to believe what she was seeing! After all, wasn't he supposed to be graduated?!

"Hey everyone!" He waved and smiled mysteriously.

There's no mistaking it…

It's him alright, there was absolutely no denying it now…

It was her ex-boyfriend…

Jellal Fernandes.

TBC

**Hey minna! I hope you enjoyed this update because I know I enjoyed writing it :) Gray and Lyon had a fallout (oh nos) and Jellal, the detective, joined Erza's class; is he simply doing his job or does he have an ulterior motive? I hope you guys liked the NatsuxGray loving I put in there :) yay couple-y stuff! Yay dance! But we all know what happens at dances… ;)**

**Waiting on your reviews!**

**-sktrgrl**

**PS. I'm seriously in love with this arc of the Fairy Tail manga… so much GRAY :D he's so badass! No one can argue with me…absolutely no one! Muwahahahahaha!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns Fairy Tail, but I own Zayn… I like Mashima's characters better -.-**

**Warnings: Yaoi, Language and Violence**

Natsu's head was throbbing like no tomorrow, but it didn't feel anything like how Gray was probably feeling. Even though he has only known the Milkovich family for almost three months, it was obvious that the siblings were fairly close; despite Gray trying to push his family away, they just had this bond. The pinkette could understand why Lyon was so afraid of their relationship, but he honestly didn't have to hit him… sigh… but he guessed Lyon wouldn't be Lyon if he didn't resort to violence.

He glanced over at the raven sitting beside him and his heart felt like breaking. Gray looked so lost and defeated; it was almost scary…he was willing to bet that the brothers had never fought like that before. The pinkette pulled out his cell and texted Lucy that they would probably be late for class or not show up at all; he knew that neither of them was ready to face the world yet.

"I'm sorry…"

He sighed sadly; the raven had been saying that to him ever since Lyon had left. He was at the point where he was beginning to wonder if Gray was even apologizing to him anymore. He slowly wrapped his arm around Gray's waist, giving him time to move, and pulled the smaller teen into his lap. The two teens sat in silence and let the sounds of nature surround them in a world all their own.

Birdsong and the warm wind wrapped them in a comforting blanket, effectively pulling them from the reality they were in. The pain in Natsu's head was even being forgotten and that was a miracle in itself. He tightened his arms around Gray's waist when the teen buried his face in between his neck and shoulder. He didn't say anything as the warm droplets fell on his skin; he simply let Gray get it out.

"I shouldn't have said that to him." The raven whispered.

Natsu buried his nose into the soft raven hair,

"He knows you didn't mean it…"

"But, the look on his face," He sniffled, "I've never seen him so upset before."

The pinkette had to agree with his love; since he's known Lyon he had never shown that much emotion before…any emotion other than rage anyway. He could understand why Gray felt guilty, but at the same time, he didn't think Lyon was upset with him. Natsu raised a hand and wiped the lingering tears on Gray's cheeks away. The raven still shivered when his fingers ran over the old burns; he couldn't help but wonder if Gray would always react like that.

"He's probably mad at himself," He sighed, "He realized that he made a mistake, that's all."

Gray nodded noncommittally against his shoulder and burrowed deeper into the warmth. Although what he said seemed to be eating him up inside, Natsu knew that Gray was probably going to stay mad at Lyon for the next few days. Natsu himself wasn't too upset about what happened; Lyon was just protecting his little brother after all, no harm done. Of course the headache said otherwise, but it was something he could live with.

The door to the roof swung open causing both of them to turn their heads and see who was there. Natsu was surprised to see a very disgruntled Ultear standing there with her hands on her hips. At first, he thought she was up there to scold them for skipping class, but when he looked at her closer he could see that her eyes were red and her cheeks were slightly flushed. Her dark brown eyes took one look at the pair and she immediately knew what happened.

"So, I'm guessing the idiot beat me here."

"Yeah…" Gray glanced away from his sister.

Ultear looked as if she was going to start crying herself, but the expression was quickly replaced with a stoic mask. Looks like Gray wasn't the only Milkovich capable of hiding their emotions; he wouldn't be surprised if it was some sort of family trait. Ultear approached them, causing Natsu to stiffen slightly, he hoped she wasn't going to beat him up too. However, she once again surprised him when she sat beside them with her arms wrapped around her knees.

"You weren't hurt too bad were you?" She whispered.

"No," Natsu shrugged, "Just a few bumps, I'm fine."

Her calculative brown eyes regarded him carefully before switching over to her brother. She saddened once more when she saw the heartbroken look in her youngest sibling's eyes. Natsu knew that she had figured out what was wrong with him immediately. Ultear was so much like Erza it was scary; no one should be that smart.

"Are you going to be okay Gray?"

"Yeah."

Natsu glanced over at Ultear and sighed,

"So I'm guessing you're okay with this?"

He almost wished he hadn't said anything to the long haired raven when a devious smirk crept onto her pale face. Ultear pushed her hair over her shoulder and watched as Gray's cheeks took on a deep red tint,

"I've known for a while," She admitted, "We all had this huge plan to get you guys together for the dance since you two are a bunch of chicken shits."

"Hey!" Gray growled.

"Don't even deny it little brother, I know everything."

FTFTFTFT

Erza kept her head down during the entire class. She was so focused on that task that she didn't realize her classmates passing notes or texting, she didn't notice the whispering and the snoring and she most of all didn't come to the conclusion that she was supposed to be taking notes. What she was aware of were the brown eyes burning holes into her back.

No matter what everyone else thought, she was completely adamant that Jellal Fernandes had already graduated high school. He went to the Tower of Heaven High School in the next town over and he graduated at the top of his class; after all, he was in Wally and Simon's graduating class… she was sure of it!

And Erza Scarlet was **never **wrong!

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even hear the bell that signaled the end of the day. She was still staring intently at her desk when a pair of pale hands slapped down beside her head. The red head jumped and nearly fell out of her seat when those same pale arms quickly steadied her. Her dark eyebrow twitched as her gaze travelled up those pale, but muscular, arms and landed on a pair of brown eyes (one of which was defined by a maroon tattoo). She could feel her heart beating in her chest as another blush made itself known on her face.

"Hey Erza," Jellal smirked, "It's been a while."

DAMN THAT CHARM!

Erza gulped before stumbling out of Jellal's grip and getting out of her desk. She avoided his gaze and started to head out of the classroom,

"I-I got to go patrol the halls!" She shouted as she all but ran out of the room.

She stormed down the halls, her aura growing darker and darker by the second. She was barely aware of the students pressing themselves against their locker doors as not to get in her way. As she walked by the bulletin board by the office, Nab quickly ran away so he wouldn't have to face the wrath of Erza again; especially since she was in such a bad mood. However, Erza didn't notice him and didn't stop walking until she was staring at Happy-sensei's classroom door.

Without pausing, she kicked the door open and she found herself staring at her friends. Even Natsu and Gray were in there… along with… ULTEAR! Erza stormed over to her raven haired friend and glared at her darkly; her eyebrow twitching furiously. The group gulped and stepped away from the raging class president; no one has seen her this mad since her break up with Jellal all those years ago. The Milkovich siblings were lucky enough never to witness that period of her life… until now.

"WHY WEREN'T YOU IN CLASS?!"

"Erza…" Lucy tried to warn the red head.

"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE MY BACK DAMNIT!"

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Ultear roared back.

"Oh that's where you disappeared to; I have to talk to you Erza!"

Erza froze in her tirade and slowly turned to face the man in the doorway. The bastard had followed him and she knew that she wouldn't be able to escape him this time. She was aware of her friends staring at the boy in shock, or in Gray and Ultear's case pure confusion. Before she could even process what was happening, Natsu had stormed passed her and grabbed the front of Jellal's school uniform.

"**You**. What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Natsu, what are you doing?!" Gray demanded, "Are you crazy?!"

"Just let the dumbass do what he wants," Gajeel growled, "The bastard deserves everything he gets."

"Are you **trying **to get Natsu arrested?!"

Erza, along with everyone else, stared at Gray with raised eyebrows. The red head noticed that the teen's face was getting red from all the attention, but she wanted to know what he was talking about. She turned her attention to the blue haired man who was one step away from getting his lights punched out by Natsu,

"What does he mean Jellal?"

"I can't really answer that… I'd be going against protocol…"

"PROTOCOL?!" Lucy squeaked, "Oh no… Natsu, let go of him now."

"But…"

"I know, I want you to punch him too, but I doubt you want to spend your weekend at the dance and not in jail."

"Jellal, I demand that you tell me what's happening now." Erza growled as she glared at her ex-boyfriend.

Jellal stared at the teens in the room and threw his arms up in exasperation; clearly there was no way he was going to get out of this one. He sighed dramatically and easily pulled Natsu's hands off the front of his uniform.

"Gray, are you sure you want me to answer this?" He clarified, "If I do, you'll have to tell them."

The smaller raven paled and stared at the floor before nodding his head subtly. Jellal sighed and smiled slightly as he thought of the young teen's courage. His gaze travelled to the ever vibrant Natsu Dragneel and he couldn't help but wonder if Gray would've ever gotten this courage without him. His guess was that probably not; especially with what he was about to learn.

"Okay, whatever I say cannot leave this room, is that clear?" The nine teens nodded and listened to him intently.

"Just get on with it." Natsu growled as he stood protectively next to Gray.

Jellal sighed,

"I'm here undercover to protect the Milkovich family and everyone who is involved with them. In all honesty, I graduated two years ago and I now work as a detective for the Fiore Crime Sorciere Squad."

"And why would you need to protect us?" Levy asked astutely.

"The person responsible for harming Gray and his family has escaped and is on his way to Magnolia to finish what he didn't last year."

Erza glanced over at the Milkovich siblings calculatedly,

"What happened?"

Gray glanced up at his friends nervously and looked at his older sister for reassurance. She grabbed onto his hand and squeezed in comfortingly. The way Natsu brought Gray closer to him, Erza knew that the pinkette knew what was going to be said. Everyone waited for Gray's response as the teen gathered his wits,

"It's a long story and I understand if you want to leave after I tell you," He whispered before smiling slightly, "I won't hold it against you."

FTFTFTFT

Ur Milkovich didn't know what to think of her three silent children.

It was almost as if the last three months never occurred and they were back to being familiar strangers. Actually, Gray and Ultear seemed to be on better terms, but in regards to Lyon it was the opposite. It was as if the roles had switched; Lyon was avoiding the family instead of Gray. Earlier that day, the silverette had come home saying that he wasn't feeling well and she could tell that he wasn't lying; he was as white as a sheet.

Gray and Ultear were the same when they got home and quickly retreated to their rooms. Ur watched them sadly as she heard the doors slam overhead. She knew that they were having a hard time, but there wasn't much she could do if they didn't open up about it. She continued preparing their dinner, but she was beginning to wonder if she was going to be the only one eating it. After adding the required spices to the spaghetti sauce, she set the sauce to a simmer and washed her hands. She slowly made her way upstairs and knocked on Gray's bedroom door because it was the closest to the stairwell.

She waited for a few moments before she heard Gray telling her to come in. She opened the door and she was surprised to see him sitting on his bed with a familiar red sweater laid across his lap. It didn't take her long to realize it was Natsu's; he's only had that dang sweater since the first day that they met. The way he was holding it made her wonder if something had happened between them.

"Gray, is everything okay?"

The young raven didn't say anything, but he shrugged his shoulders lightly. Ur made her way across the carpet floor and sat on his bed gently. She ran her fingers through his hair softly causing him to lean into her hand. He sighed and stared into her warm deep blue eyes,

"I told them…"

Her eyebrows furrowed contemplatively,

"Told who what?"

"Lucy, Loke, Gajeel, Levy, Erza and Juvia… I told them the truth about what happened in Isvan."

Ur's hand froze in her movements for a moment before continuing. She was wondering when Gray would finally tell them, especially with Zayn probably getting closer to Magnolia. She pulled her son into a tight hug and kissed the top of his head before speaking,

"What made you do that?"

Gray sighed and played with the sweater on his lap,

"Detective Fernandes went undercover as a student at our school. Apparently he and Erza used to have a thing and it ended badly, so I basically told Jellal to break his cover so that Natsu wouldn't get arrested for assaulting an officer…"

Ur chuckled silently as she thought of the hot headed pinkette,

"So how'd it go?"

Gray became silent which made her think the worst, when a small smile spread across his face. Warmth bubbled in her chest when she looked at that smile; now she knew she made the right decision by moving them here.

"They called me an idiot for not telling them sooner; I've never met a group of people as strange as them in my life."

"No, I bet you haven't," She agreed, "Baby, do you know what's wrong with Lyon?"

The young raven sighed sadly and clenched the sweater tighter in his hands,

"Natsu asked me to go to the dance this weekend and Lyon kind of flipped."

It was Ur's turn to sigh sadly; just by hearing that, she had pretty good idea about what happened. She knew that Lyon felt especially guilty about what happened to Gray back in Isvan. He felt that he wasn't a good enough big brother for not being able to prevent Zayn from hurting him. She should've known how her oldest son would react if he found out Gray was dating again.

"I said something I shouldn't have mom," Gray whispered, "But he made me so mad."

"That's understandable," Ur conceded, "But you do know why he flipped right?"

"Yeah…but I wish he'd trust me and I wish that he'd trust Natsu."

Ur pressed a light kiss on Gray's temple before heading towards the door herself. By her son's tense posture, she knew that her time was up. As she was about to close the door, Gray's voice stopped her,

"If you're going to talk to Lyon, be careful with him…"

"I know, I will."

"No mom," Gray persisted, "Jellal told us that Lyon's friend Yuka was killed back in Isvan."

"And he told us, that all the evidence points to Zayn."

TBC

**Woo another chapter completed! This one was a little slow moving and maybe a little confusing, but I'm happy with the ending. The next chapter is the dance and then all HELL breaks loose muwahahaha! Stay tuned to see what chaos is bound to erupt and what drama is going to explode! Get ready guys because the action is coming! Waiting for your reviews! :)**

**-sktrgrl**

**PS. I pre-ordered "One Piece: Strong World" English Dubbed on Amazon today! The movie will be in my hands in 1.5 months or so! SO EXCITED! XD**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns Fairy Tail… I own Zayn…sadly…**

**Warnings: Yaoi, Language and Violence**

The first snowflakes fell from the sky and decorated the dusty streets of Magnolia. The townspeople were moving about and teenagers were running around like headless chickens; he had to say, he loved the chaos. Of course, it would've been better if he was the one causing it; however, beggars can't be choosers… his wish will be granted soon enough. Just the thought of it made the blood thrum in his veins and a sort of euphoria gather in his gut. He was hours away from getting his prize and he could barely contain himself.

Running his hands through his hair, he pushed his way through the crowd with his head down. It would be disastrous if the Milkovich family were to be on Main Street; that would just throw off his entire plan after all and he worked very hard on perfecting that plan. Through the hustle and bustle of the crowds he barely realized that he had stumbled into an ice cream parlour. That was one of the things he missed while he was away; ice cream was the food of the Gods after all. He walked up to the counter and found something that sent a wrench into his plans.

_Fairy Tail High School Presents_

_The 38__th__ Annual Winter Ball_

_Saturday, November 23, 2013_

"Which so happens to be today…" He mumbled venomously.

Obviously his new _friends_ were going to make him go to that wretched dance…

Where they were protected by chaperones AND security…

He growled furiously and thundered away from the counter just as a large, silver haired man approached. He was almost across the shop when the man's deep voice stopped him,

"You're bailing on ice cream?" He thundered, "Come back and buy one like a man!"

"I have places to go, sorry for the inconvenience sir." He hissed through clenched teeth.

"Man, you remind me of that Lyon kid," The man said thoughtfully, "is his temper contagious or something? And he isn't even being a man and going to the dance tonight…"

He froze at the door and turned to the silverette, a Cheshire grin slowly spreading across his slightly pale face. He turned on his heel and walked back to the counter before leaning against the glass top. He pointed a glance to the ice cream bins and pointed to the mint chocolate flavour,

"You've changed my mind; how about you get me a double of that mint and tell me all about it."

Maybe his plans weren't completely ruined after all…

FTFTFTFT

"I can't believe he talked me into this."

Gray glared at his reflection and tugged the constricting tie from around his neck and chucked it across his room in frustration. How Natsu convinced him to go to this damn dance was a mystery in itself… actually that's lie… the outcome would've been different if Natsu wasn't such a good kisser; stupid flame brain using his kissing skills to make him say yes to going to the blasted dance. He started unbuttoning his dress shirt and threw it into his hamper when his bedroom door slammed open.

He glanced towards the door and saw Ultear standing in the doorway with her hands planted firmly on her hips. Her long, dark raven hair fell down her back in a river of ringlets with a dark purple clip pinning her bangs back. Her dark purple, sparkly dress was strapless and fell just above her knees to show just enough skin to make guys drool…

Ever the flirt that one…

"Gray, what the hell is taking so long?!" She demanded impatiently, "Everyone is going to be here soon!"

The younger raven huffed and ruffled his hair discouragingly,

"I know that, but nothing is looking right damnit!"

Ultear sighed and stomped towards his hamper and threw the deep blue dress-shirt back at him. He raised an eyebrow at her causing her to roll her eyes exasperatedly,

"Seriously Gray, this shirt will look amazing with your eyes; now put it on before I slap you."

He glared at her before putting the shirt back on and buttoning it up slowly. She was right about the shirt bringing out his eyes, but there was another reason why he didn't want to wear it. Without a tie, he would have to undo a few buttons, which means more of his scars would be broadcasted to the world and he wasn't exactly ready to do that yet. Natsu and his friends may not be disgusted by his scars, but he still was and he knew that outsiders would be to.

"Okay, now where's your black tie?"

Gray rubbed the back of his neck,

"I think I threw it on my desk over there."

His older sister's eyes narrowed as she walked over to the overflowing desk and snatched the tie from the clutter. He could hear her mumbling under her breath about 'messy, hormonal, teenage boys' as she stood in front of him and started to tie the dark piece of cloth around his neck.

"You should really learn how to tie these things you know," She teased, "I'm not going to be able to do it forever."

He felt his cheeks heat up and he turned away from his nosy sister,

"Shut up."

She laughed and messed with his hair playfully while trying to tame it at the same time. Just as she fixed the last dark spike the doorbell rang from downstairs immediately causing him to jump out of his skin. His palms started to get sweaty as his older sibling grabbed his hand and started to pull him towards the staircase. Every sense he had was telling him to turn around, hide in his room and never come out again.

Yup, that definitely sounded like a good plan…

He was about to follow through with that plan too, but his ever intelligent sister had to read his mind and hold onto his hand even tighter. At that moment, he wished Lyon was out here and that they were still on speaking terms. They hadn't said one word to each other since the incident on the roof; Gray because he was stubborn as hell and Lyon because he was guilty as hell and refused to come out of his room. Plus, there was the whole business with Yuka's death; he just wasn't up to hanging out tonight.

"Don't even think about it Gray Fullbuster-Milkovich." She hissed threateningly.

However, he barely heard her; his attention was solely on the pinkette who waited for them at the bottom of the stairs. Like him, he was wearing a black tie, but instead of a blue shirt, he wore a vibrant red that would catch even a blind man's eye. Of course Natsu would be wearing a colour like that; he wasn't exactly a subtle person after all. The red also made his green eyes even brighter and much more captivating…

Maybe it was Natsu's eyes that made him want to go to the dance…

Without noticing, Gray pulled his hand from Ultear's and slowly descended the steps on his own. When he reached the bottom, Natsu wrapped a warm arm around his waist and pulled him into a hug. He felt the pinkette's warm breath ghosting through his hair sending chills down his spine. He reluctantly let go of the warmth when Natsu stepped back and placed a calloused hand on his cheek, gently caressing the scars that marred it; and for the first time, he didn't flinch.

"You look beautiful…" He whispered.

The hellish blush spread across his cheeks again,

"I'm a guy…don't call me beautiful…"

Natsu sighed as if he was about to say more, but he was caught off guard by a flash blinding them. When the spot finally left his vision, Gray scowled as he saw his mother standing by the staircase smirking at them triumphantly. The raven pouted and crossed his arms over his chest,

"Was that really necessary?!"

"Of course it is!" She laughed, "Not every day that your little boy stops being a hermit."

Natsu must have broken him… before meeting him, he never used to blush this easily…

"Okay!" His mom cheered, "One group picture before you go!"

Gray huffed impatiently, but let Natsu drag him over to his friends. Gajeel who was dressed in black from head to toe except for his silver tie, Levy who wore a form-fitted platinum, strapped dress, Lucy who wore a bright pink ball gown and Loke who wore a white shirt with a pink tie. He wondered how much Lucy had to pay him to wear pink; probably a lot. Actually, it also made him wonder how much she had to pay his fangirls so that they left him alone…

He glanced to the other side and saw Ultear who was standing next to Erza who was wearing a navy blue cocktail dress as well as a dark red blush heating her cheeks. The result of said blush: standing beside her was none other than Detective Jellal Fernandes; looks like those two reconciled their differences pretty quickly. Juvia wanted to go to the dance, but she went to France a couple days ago so she could spend Christmas vacation with her family.

Lucy said it was because she didn't have a date to the dance…

Gray sighed sadly, which didn't go unnoticed by Natsu. He sent a glance towards the pinkette that told him that he would tell him about it later. Gray focused back on his mother and huddled close to his friends. The pinkette's warmth embraced him, immediately soothing his muscles and anxiety that had been plaguing him all day. Even though he wasn't much of a dancer or one for crowds, he knew tonight would be the night of all nights.

Definitely a night that he would always remember.

FTFTFTFT

Lyon sighed as he stared out his bedroom window. A light layer of snow was decorating the once green ground and the full moon was high in the sky. The shadowed limbs of the barren trees danced with the wind creating intricate moves against the pure white. It had been a long time since he had been able to appreciate the snow; the last time he saw it, the innocent flakes were distorted by blood, flames, and screams of never-ending pain. Maybe that's why he'll like Magnolia; even if the snow is there to remind him of his little brother's anguish, it will soon melt away to give new life to the grass and trees.

A lot like how Magnolia gave new life to Gray…

He wrapped his arms around his knees as he thought of that fateful day on the roof. It's been a week and Gray has yet to even look him in the eye. If that wasn't bad enough, Ultear didn't talk to him anymore either; never in his life had he felt so alone. When Gray was distancing himself three months ago, he at least had his twin sister to help him get through it; now that was just an unrequited fantasy. He was pulled out of his thoughts by a silent knock on his bedroom door; out of the corner of his eye, he watched as his mother entered the room silently with two cups of hot chocolate. She handed him a cup before sitting on the bed next to him and staring out onto the silent street.

"How are you holding up?" She asked bluntly.

Lyon shrugged his shoulders non-committedly and just continued to stare at the starry sky. Moments like this one had been happening throughout the entire week as well. His mom would come upstairs and try to get him to talk about his feelings… Lyon Milkovich doesn't talk about his feelings…that's the cardinal rule in the household; or at least it used to be.

"They really wanted you to go you know," She continued, "Gray looked completely lost without you…"

"Tch," He grunted, "As if… he hates me and that's not going to change."

"Sorry to break it to you Lyon, but he doesn't hate you; he never would be able to."

The silverette rolled his eyes and placed his cup on the table, signalling the end of the conversation. His mom sighed in frustration before pushing herself off the bed once more and heading towards the door. She was about to close it when she turned to her oldest son,

"He wants to forgive you, but it's hard when you're not showing any effort to apologize…"

Her sentence was cut off by the sound of the doorbell ringing downstairs. She motioned for him to stay put so that they could finish their new conversation when she got back. He huffed silently as she shut his bedroom door and made her way down the stairs. Was she telling the truth… did Gray really want to forgive him?

Well, he had a funny way of showing it that's for sure…

But, his mom did have a point… like always. He really hadn't tried to apologize to Gray or even Natsu for that matter. He honestly thought that he was doing the right thing; it's not his fault that Gray didn't see his side. However, his younger brother had a point; he couldn't make Gray's decisions. He had to trust that Natsu wouldn't harm him like that bastard did and he did trust Natsu, but it was so damn hard to let go!

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

Lyon's head perked up at the sound of his mother's voice. He hadn't heard her voice sound so hateful in almost a year. The only time he had ever heard her sound like that was when…

_No…_

"GET THE HELL OUT OF THIS HOUSE BEFORE I KILL YOU!"

Lyon dove out of his bed and threw his door open. Without stopping, he ran down the stairs as if Erza was chasing him. When he reached the landing it was as if his heart had stopped beating. He reached out to his mother, but she shook her head frantically at him,

"LYON, GET OUT OF HERE NOW!"

"No." He growled as he glared at the silhouette in the doorway.

"You need to warn them, leave now."

He didn't know what it was, but something told him to listen to his mother. He didn't want to leave her alone, but there wasn't much of a choice, he needed to warn the others. He turned on his heel and ran to the kitchen. He picked up the closest thing he could reach and threw it at the window. Completely forgetting about the broken shards he dove out of the pane and ran down the street as fast as he could…

He needed to get to that dance…

What he wouldn't think about until later was…

Why did the little bastard let him go?

FTFTFTFT

Gray leaned into the shadows and once again found himself wondering why he let the Flame Brain take him to the dance. He didn't even know _how_ to dance, so he was obviously just going to be chilling by the wall the entire time. But, he had to admit that it was fun to people watch; who knew people could act like such idiots at dances. Guys were falling over themselves from just staring at girls' asses, teachers weren't even paying attention to the guy spiking the punch bowl, cough *Loke* cough.

But he had to say, the biggest idiot of them all was his boyfriend…

C'mon, who else would it be?

The raven chuckled as he watched his pinkette dancing, or as he would call it, stumbling over his two left feet. At least Gray was smart enough not to even think about going on the dance floor; that in itself would just be disastrous. His gaze travelled from the pinkette to his older sister, who was flirting with some random guy; but hey, even he had to admit that she had good taste.

"Hey, are you just going to stand there the entire night?"

The raven barely suppressed a squeal when he focused on his pinkette's looming face; when the hell he had gotten there, he couldn't tell say. He smiled shyly and gulped as he gazed into Natsu's teasing eyes.

"No…" He muttered in embarrassment.

The older teen wrapped his arm around Gray's waist and they stood there in silence for a few moments before Natsu spoke again. By the smirk on his face, the raven had feeling that Natsu was going to say something that he wasn't going to like.

"How about we make a deal?"

Okay… he wasn't expecting that…

"What kind of deal?"

Natsu seemed to look into the distance thoughtfully,

"If I can name the next song, you have to come dance with me…"

Gray scoffed and punched the pinkette in the arm,

"Yeah, right, you probably picked the song already. I'd be dumb to fall for something like that."

The pinkette smirked before shrugging his shoulders again. The two stood in silence as the song disappeared into nothing around them. The crowd seemed to be waiting patiently for the next song; the excitement was almost palpable. After a few tense moments, the sound of a piano started to drift through the DJ's amps; it was a slow song.

"Gray come dance with me."

"No way in hell."

"C'mon ice block, just this one; I promise."

He tried not to look at Natsu because he knew at that moment, like any other moment, he would immediately give in. But of course, the world was against him and his eyes travelled up to meet Natsu's. He sighed in defeat before grabbing onto the pinkette's hand and nodding his head. The pinkette smiled softly as he pulled Gray onto the dance floor and placed his hands on the raven's hips. Gray jumped slightly, but quickly relaxed and hesitantly wrapped his arms around Natsu's neck.

_You're in my arms, and all the world is calm  
The music playing on for only two.  
So close, together…  
And when I'm with you, so close to being alive…_

_A life goes by, romantic dreams must die.  
So, I bid my goodbye and never knew…  
So close, was waiting, waiting here with you…  
And now forever, I know…  
All that I wanted, to hold you so close…_

Gray could feel tears coming to his eyes; he had enough of crying, but this song… this song meant everything. It was like it was made especially for him… especially for him and Natsu. He had never felt so calm in his entire life, except for right here, at this moment; the pinkette's eternal warmth covering him, reassuring him and finally freeing him…

_So close to reaching that famous happy end  
Almost believing, this one's not pretend  
And now you're beside me and look how far we've come…  
So far…We are… So close…_

He buried his face into the crook of Natsu's neck and pressed his lips firmly against it. He smirked slightly when he felt the shudder go down the pinkette's spine only to sigh in contentment as Natsu held him close. He could feel Natsu's heart beat beating alongside his own; they were completely in sync…one being…They had come so far together; Natsu had stuck with him when he would let no one else near. He broke down those walls he had constructed in a matter of hours and made his home deep in his heart.

"Oh how could I face the faceless days, if I should lose you now…"

Gray glanced up at the older teen with wide teary eyes as Natsu's soothing voice washed over him,

"We're so close to reaching that famous happy end and almost believing that this world's not pretend. Let's go on dreaming for we know we are… so close…so close… and still, so far…"

As the sound of the piano drifted off into its final notes, Gray pulled on Natsu's neck so that they were now nose to nose. Natsu's breath blanketed over him, causing those barricaded tears to run freely. The pinkette's eyes widened in fear before the raven reached up and pressed his lips firmly on his lover's. Gray smiled inwardly when he saw Natsu's eyes widen before slipping closed.

Gray reluctantly pulled away for air and leaned his forehead against Natsu's,

"I love you."

The pinkette chuckled before kissing him on the nose,

"And I love you."

A loud shout caused the two lovers to break out of their reverie and back into reality. Everyone in the gym froze and the lights flicked on temporarily blinding the dancers. Gray released Natsu and clutched onto his hand tightly; something wasn't right… he could feel it. Pulling Natsu behind him, he pushed his way through the crowd and into the parking lot. He could hear thundering footsteps behind him, but he didn't pay attention…

He couldn't hear the agonized voices…

He couldn't see the surprised and frightened faces…

He couldn't feel Natsu's hand as he squeezed it firmly…

All he noticed was a bloody, mangled body with silvery hair and pale skin; he didn't need someone to tell him who it was… he already knew…

"LYON!"

TBC

**Here's another chapter… the drama is starting now :) I hope this chapter was okay, it was a pain in the butt to write. Seriously I almost threw my laptop across the room like a million times lol. I know the part with Ur and Lyon was a little rough, but I had to get it going because I have big plans! Sigh… I know he probably wouldn't have left his mom alone with a psycho, but we all know Ur is badass enough to handle herself… or so we hope… **

**Anyways, I'm waiting on your reviews :)**

**-sktrgrl**

**PS. The song I used is "So Close" by Jon McLaughlin – god I love this song! **

**PSS. I hope that Silver is like Gray's uncle or something because there's too many coincidences going on there! I'm waiting ever so patiently for the upcoming chapters! :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns Fairy Tail…I own pure evil.**

**Warnings: Yaoi, Language, Violence, Blood**

The world stopped spinning at that very moment.

As he kneeled in the snow with his hands covered in his warm, lifeblood he knew that it was over. He could feel someone near him, but he couldn't place who it was or where he was. All he knew was that his brother was lying on the ground like a broken doll. Limbs bent awkwardly, chest barely rising and falling with the faint thrumming of his pulse. He subconsciously heard voices yelling around him, but he couldn't make sense of the words. They were probably trying to soothe him, trying to tell him that everything was going to be alright…

But he knew better…

He knew that his older brother was dying and there was nothing he could do about it. First his father and now his brother; was fate truly that cruel? He didn't even get to apologize for his actions over the past week. He didn't get the chance to tell him that he wasn't mad at him or that he understood his reasons for doing what he did. His older brother was dying believing that he had hated him and never wanted to talk to him ever again. How could he do that to him?! Especially knowing first hand that everything can change in the blink of an eye, knowing that life was fragile and could blow away like dandelions in the wind.

He was a monster…

His brother was there for everything; he remained by his side even when he was pushing everyone away. He tried to break down those walls and kept going at it until he was able to break through the tough shell. He was his protector and saviour, be it when he was afraid of the monsters under the bed or a bully on the playground, he was there to stand up for him. He gave him every ounce of his love and attention and how was he repaid? By his younger brother ignoring his existence. Some brother he made…can't even keep his family safe from anything.

Dad…

Lyon…

He was sorry that he couldn't save them…sorry that he couldn't do enough. Most of all, he was sorry that he didn't tell them that he loved them. He didn't tell them that they meant everything to him and were part of the reason why he couldn't kill himself back then. Hah…it was Lyon who found him in the bathroom, wasn't it? So, Lyon really did stop him from killing himself…the smart, arrogant, conniving, overprotective, older brother…

Something wet was on him now, but he couldn't place the substance. It was heartbreakingly familiar and made his very being tremble. His eyes slowly trailed from his brother to look up into the sky…it was snowing. Of course it was snowing; the sky was even mourning the loss of a brave soul. But, if it was mourning, why did the snow always take his family away from him? Was it to save them from him? After all, he brought nothing, but death and abandonment…he was destined to be alone.

But he didn't want to be alone…

Being alone made him so cold and forgotten…being alone made him feel dead and broken. He wanted to live, but did he have that right? Did he have the authority to live while so many others died?

That's when he felt it…the warmth…

He wanted to run out and touch it, no, he wanted to embrace it. He wanted the warmth to fill him up and make him feel again. He didn't know how, but he knew the warmth would accept him, so he slowly let himself fade into that damning warmth.

FTFTFTFT

For the first time in his life, Natsu had no idea what to do.

Ultear and Gray were kneeling next to the seemingly lifeless Lyon who was practically bathed in his own blood. The iron smell was pure enough to assault his senses and make the contents of his stomach churn uncomfortably. He moved aside when Carla-sensei, Happy-sensei and Makarov pushed through the crowd with blankets in their arms. He glanced behind him and noticed the crowd of students whispering behind him. Seeing the observers made inexplicable rage bubble in his chest.

"Oi, if you're here to watch and not do dick to help, I suggest you get the hell out of here!" He roared.

The crowd of bystanders flinched at his anger and started to slowly trickle away. Eventually the only ones left were his friends. Jellal was standing away from the speaking hurriedly into his phone; Natsu faintly heard him demanding an ambulance. After a few moments Jellal snapped his phone shut and ran over to the Milkovich siblings and the teachers talking to them hurriedly. He was about to walk over there when he felt someone's hand clamp down on his shoulder gently.

Erza regarded him sadly and squeezed his shoulder reassuringly,

"An ambulance is on its way Natsu, Lyon is going to be alright…"

Natsu sighed and ran his hand through his hair,

"Honestly, I know Lyon is going to pull through…it's Gray I'm worried about."

He saw her nod solemnly out of the corner of his eye, but his main focus was on the raven looking up at the snow falling from the sky. He couldn't even begin to imagine what was going through his love's mind at that very moment. All he knew was that for the first time in a long time, he was scared…no terrified. Gray had completely shut down; a genius wouldn't be needed to figure that one out. The raven's actions were robotic; he did what his body remembered, but he was buried in his subconscious.

"Go to him," Erza urged him, "He needs you; if you don't go now, he'll be lost forever."

Natsu fought not to raise his eyebrow at her; she sounded like something from some cliché romance chick-flick. But nonetheless, Natsu nodded and slowly approached the silent raven as calmly as possible. As he got closer to the scene, he was aware of Ultear trying to pull herself together. He could hear the tears catching in her voice, but he knew that her face would be clear. She was talking to Lyon, telling him to hold on and that she was sorry; he had never seen her so desperate before…

It was something he never wanted to see again…

He listened as Jellal and Erza comforted her as best as they could, but in a sense she was like Gray; she was locked in her own world where nothing evil could touch her. Finally, he had reached his love, who was still gazing up at the falling snow; his eyes, though vacant, seemed accusatory. It was as if he was blaming the snow for what had befallen them; it was if he thought the snow held all the answers.

And who knows, maybe it does…

With no hesitation, Natsu knelt in the snow and wrapped his arms around Gray's small waist; hoping the raven would come back to him. The younger teen didn't even notice his presence, but Natsu refused to let go; he could be patient after all…he just didn't particularly like to be. He pressed his lips on Gray's dark locks so that his love would envelop him; to let him know that he wasn't alone.

"He'll live Gray," He whispered, "That stubborn idiot will live for you."

Like he was coming out of a trance, Gray slowly slumped against Natsu; his breathing choppy and ragged. Before Natsu even tried to move, the raven whipped around and wrapped his arms around his neck. The pinkette was aware of the hot tears sliding down his neck and immediately tightened his hold on the teen. He pressed the raven's face into the crook of his neck and let him cry out his fears.

"I-I didn't tell him…" Gray choked.

Natsu sighed sadly and rubbed his hand along Gray's back rhythmically,

"He knows, trust me he knows."

The sound of sirens echoed around them letting them know Lyon was finally getting the help he needed. Natsu held his ice prince tightly as the paramedics dove out of the ambulance with a stretcher and kit. They quickly and efficiently loaded the silverette into the ambulance and noted how stable he seemed to be. Those words allowed Gray to relax slightly, but tension still lined his small shoulders.

"Gray," Ultear walked over, "Go home."

"HELL NO!" Gray roared, "I'm not going home, are fucking nuts?! He's my brother too!"

The older raven pulled Gray into her and held him tightly. Slowly, he raised his own arms and wrapped them around her slighter frame. She pulled back and ran her hand down Gray's tear soaked face. Guilt could be seen on her features, but she was determined.

"Someone needs to tell mom and our landlines are down." She argued tearfully, "Jellal offered to take you there and then take you and mom back to the hospital."

Natsu noticed the conflicted emotions on the raven's face, but Gray finally nodded; albeit a little hesitantly. Ultear kissed his cheek before running to the ambulance and climbing in herself. The doors slowly shut behind her and the red and white vehicle took off into the night, their sirens blazing loudly. Natsu wrapped his hand around the smaller's and squeezed it tightly.

As he watched Jellal's car pull up, he couldn't help but feel the need to pray to his mom and make her promise that that was the last amount of pain Gray and his family would have to endure.

FTFTFTFT

He was silent the entire way home; he didn't have the energy anymore. Gray lazily ran his hand through Natsu's hair while the carsick pinkette lay on his lap. It was oddly calming for him to be doing this, even though poor Natsu had to suffer. Then again, being with the pinkette always seemed to calm him down and bring him back to Earthland. Gray shuddered as his love groaned and hugged his stomach tightly. It always made him feel horrible when Natsu had to suffer like this.

Gray glanced out the window sadly as he sent silent prayers up to his father. He hoped that he would keep a close eye over Lyon; he also hoped that his dad wouldn't take Lyon with him. He glanced at the bluenette in the front and he was thankful that Jellal hadn't tried to talk to him. In no time, the detective pulled into his driveway and Natsu was the first out of the car, comically kissing the ground. He rolled his eyes at his love's antics and started to shakily head for his front door; he didn't even know how he was going to tell his mom what happened.

He felt the familiar and comforting heat of Natsu beside him which in turn instilled his own courage. He slowly opened the door and he immediately knew something wasn't right and by the way Natsu tensed beside him, it was safe to assume that the pinkette felt it too. Cautiously, Gray stepped into the foyer and glanced around himself; the house was eerily silent and it was creeping him out.

"Mom?" He called out, "Are you home?"

He walked into the hallway leading into the living room and noticed one of the vases was knocked over on its side. The jagged pieces stuck out of the carpet forebodingly and immediately cause panic to rise in his chest. Without saying anything to Natsu or stepping around the broken ceramic, Gray ran into the living room.

He felt his stomach drop to the floor.

The once pure white carpet was practically dyed a horrid crimson red, the end tables were smashed and the furniture was thrown all over the room. Scorch marks and bullet holes littered the walls, but that wasn't the worst of it. Lying face down in the middle of the explosion was a pale woman with short raven hair. Gray ran into the room and dropped onto his knees beside her; his hands shaking spastically.

"M-Mom?!" He touched her shoulder hesitantly, "M-Mom, answer me!"

He was faintly aware of Natsu shouting for Jellal frantically before returning to Gray's side. The raven went to press his fingers to his mom's neck to search for a pulse, when his fingers touched nothing but warm liquid. He shakily pulled his hand away and the same red substance that littered the floor was caked onto his hand…

It was something he was very familiar with…

"No…" He whispered.

Carefully, and with the help of Natsu, they turned his mom onto her back and he wished that he hadn't. The pinkette started screaming for Jellal again and trying to pull Gray away from the scene, but there was nothing he could do. The raven refused to move as he stared at his mother with wide, unseeing eyes.

Her stomach, throat and left eye were slashed grotesquely, blood still bleeding out onto the floor. Her arms were severely bruised and one of her legs were twisted in an odd direction; the bone jutting out through the skin. Blood coated her like a blanket; barely any pale skin was visible. However, he was aware of one thing… her chest was faintly rising and falling; he hoped he wasn't seeing things. He clutched onto her cold hand tightly and held it close to his chest; his fingers trying to find her pulse point…

And failing…

"No…"

He felt something crumpled in his mother's seemingly frail hand. Slowly, he pulled it out of her limp hand and unfolded it. It was a picture of his friends and him standing on the pier; the picture that Lyon sent to his friends…

The picture Gray sent Yuka…

And Lyon's face had a red 'X' on top of it…

Gray flipped the picture over and saw an arrow that was pointing to the East. He didn't know what it was, but something told him to turn his head…

"Gray, help is coming…"

"What happened?!"

"Don't worry; everything is going to be alright…"

He didn't hear them, because he could see it…it was written on the wall…

In her blood…

_I told you Gray-chan, if you didn't give me your life…I would start taking those of the one's you love._

_Let's play a little game!_

TBC

**Please… I beg you… don't kill me! I-I had to for the sake of the story… I'm so sorry guys! And I'm sorry for the really late update and the kind of shitty chapter! I know that it was kind of dull and im really sorry about that! Just promise that you'll give me a chance to fix this with future chapters! Waiting for your reviews! :)**

**-sktrgrl**


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